It Started With A Lie
by Wordaholic
Summary: "He was with me." The words rushed out of Felicity's mouth in that out of control way they always did. She kicked herself mentally right after she said it... When Oliver's secret is about to be discovered, Felicity is forced to tell a lie to cover for him. Only problem is neither of them thought about the consequences of living a lie that could be turning into the truth. Olicity
1. Chapter 1

_Hello, fanfiction world! I'm back :) this time with another story. This is my 1st Olicity story. I love the show and I love this couple so I felt I had to contribute in some way to what is already a great fandom. Hope you enjoy this multichapter story and I'll meet you at the end!_

**_Disclaimer: I wish I owned any of the characters in this story but truth is I don't._**

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**Chapter I - The Lie**

"Is Ollie here?"

Felicity looked up from her tablet to find Laurel Lance staring back at her with clear, piercing eyes. She couldn't get over how naturally stunning this woman was. She just had a way about her, something that made you stop and take notice, something that Felicity kind of envied.

"Never mind." Laurel interrupted Felicity's image analysis and went straight for the office door.

"What? No, wait! I'm supposed to…"

Felicity followed after her but it was too late. Laurel was already inside the office, with her perfect set of sun kissed curls cascading over her shoulders and down her back. and Oliver was already standing up from behind his desk.

"It's alright, Miss Smoak. I'll take care of it from here," he said with a small smile.

Felicity knew the 'Miss Smoak' was part of their secret identity cover as corporate CEO and personal assistant, but she didn't quite like it, especially when she had to be 'Miss Smoak' and Laurel could be just 'Laurel'.

"Laurel..." Oliver pointed her to a chair she didn't take.

"Tell me the truth, Ollie. Are you… the Arrow?"

Felicity had barely taken two steps out of the office when she heard Laurel's voice, sentencing Oliver loud and clear. She felt her blood sink to her feet and her arms wrapped around her tablet holding on for dear life.

Oliver remained every bit the ninja he was.

"I thought we'd established I do _not_ spend my nights jumping around in a green hoodie shooting arrows into people, Laurel," he offered with a carefree, easy air.

"Did we really? Because the only reason you were cleared last time was because the Arrow conveniently showed up the same day you were stuck at home wearing an ankle monitor. Don't you think that's a little too coincidental?"

Felicity had to give it to him, the guy even managed to laugh.

"Now I can't even catch a break? Convenient or not, Laurel, I still can't be in two places at the same time."

"You could've easily had an accomplice."

"An accomp… Laurel! I. Am. Not. The Vigilante! You _know_ me. You know there's no way I cou..."

She cut him off mid sentence. "No, I _used_ to know you, Ollie. You spent _five years _stranded in some island, doing God knows what and you came back with all these scars that I can't..."

Laurel looked down at his shirt as if she could see the horrid marks through the blue fabric, permanent witnesses of the horrors he'd endured.

"You're different," she said softly. "That much is obvious. Maybe you're just a lot more different than I thought."

He didn't say a word. Felicity felt the office suddenly got a lot smaller, glass walls or not.

"Where were you last night, Ollie?"

_Last night?_ Well, last night he'd been on Arrow duty but why was she asking about it? _Of course!_ Oliver forced his face to stay cool. He was supposed to meet Laurel the day before but then Roy had stuck his little beacon arrow on the wall and he'd forgot all about it. _Not even a call, Oliver, way to go._

"Laurel, I'm sorry. I was working on the investors' meeting for today and..."

"Don't bother, Ollie. I already know you weren't here. I called your house, you weren't there either. I even called Thea at the club and she said she hadn't seen you all day. Then I get a call from the police department saying the Arrow is in the Glades pinning drug dealers to the walls. And it got me thinking… All those late arrivals, the no-shows. I realized you always have an excuse, Ollie, never an explanation."

"So your obvious conclusion is that _I_ have to be the vigilante?" Oliver had a wicked condescending act. "Laurel, you're basing all of this on one coincidence and the fact that you're mad at me because I didn't call last night."

"This is not just one coincidence, Oliver," she said, pointing her finger onto the stack of papers she'd thrown on his desk. "I looked back into all the files the police has since the vigilante came to Starling City, which happens to be the same time you returned from the island. Almost every time you go missing the Arrow makes an appearance. I'd start telling the truth if I were you, Ollie. Don't make me come back with an arrest warrant."

"He was with me." The words rushed out of Felicity's mouth in that out of control way they always did. She kicked herself mentally right after she said it.

Laurel turned to look at her with a frown. "What?"

She pulled her glasses up in one swift motion and made her way into the office trying not to shake that much.

"Felicity, what are you doing?" Oliver's tone was thick with warning.

The blonde girl did her best to ignore him and carry on.

"He was with me last night," Felicity said, "and probably many of those other times too."

Laurel eyed her harshly.

"What do you mean he was with you? I already told you I know neither of you were here."

"I never said we were working. I just said he was with me… outside office hours." Laurel looked at her without blinking while Felicity's cheeks went from blushed to burning. "Don't make me spell it out please."

She didn't mean to sound snarky but she seriously didn't want to say she was having s.e.x. with Oliver. That'd be asking too much.

Laurel couldn't believe her senses. Out of all the possible ways this could've gone she did _not_ expect that. She turned her olive eyes up to Oliver.

"Oliver... what is she talking about?"

He was just lost. _How am I supposed to know anything about this completely made up story Felicity is babbling about?!_

"I emm…" Nope, nothing was coming out. _Damn it! Out of all the moments _now _I can't think of an excuse. Not even a bad one… _Oliver looked down at the blonde. _You better ride this wave all the way now, Felicity Smoak!_

Felicity tried to remember those acting classes Mrs. Johnson, her old drama teacher, used to give them at the community theater. _Come on, Felicity, you can do this. _She took a deep breath and blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"As much as I'd like to think Oliver didn't say anything because I asked him not to, I'm pretty sure it has a lot more to do with the fact that it is _you_ asking."

_Wow, talk about repressed feelings, _Felicity thought. _Even in my made up story I can't make Oliver put me over Laurel. Well, at least it's believable._ She took advantage of Laurel's clear look of shock and ran with it. It was all about protecting Oliver's cover now.

"I didn't want him to say anything because, let's be honest, we all know what this looks like, right? Big company CEO dating his assistant? Yeah, that's only like the world's oldest affair story. Talk about lame clichés."

Felicity thought about pointing out the fact she even had blonde hair and all but somehow she felt Oliver and Laurel wouldn't appreciate the joke. She could actually sense Oliver's muscles getting tense so she hurried before he had a chance to blow the whole story.

"Anyway," Felicity continued, "I just got promoted… which had nothing to do with this by the way, but you know, I didn't want to be the new 'Anna from Accounting'. Plus, throw in this one's reputation with women," she said pointing her thumb at Oliver before realizing Laurel _was_ one of those 'women'. _You just don't know when to stop, do you Felicity? __Wrap it up, wrap it up!__"_I'm sure you understand now why I wasn't too keen about letting the cat out of the bag but since the alternative now is having my… is having _Oliver_ accused of being a crazy hood guy then…_" _Felicity looked up to find Oliver's eyes, "Then I think I can take one for the team this time."

The blonde smiled a little at her boss-slash-partner, hoping he'd understand what she really meant by those words. They were a team, him, Diggle and her, and she was just trying to do her part.

Oliver held her gaze. This was Felicity being Felicity in all her glory… smart, resourceful and above all dependable. She _was_ part of the team, all the way, and she had been since the day he decided to crawl in the back of her car with a bleeding shoulder. Somehow he'd known she was worthy of his trust and now he felt he had to return the favour.

He let out a small sigh and smiled back at her a soft, subtle smile. He would follow her lead this time, play along with whatever crazy plan she was suggesting, and just like that his hand stretched out to graze her cheek in a tender gesture, sending shivers down Felicity's body.

He forced himself to look away from Felicity and turn to Laurel.

"I'm sorry I lied, Laurel. It just... It wasn't my place to tell."

Laurel could feel a knot starting to take hold of her throat. How could she have been so stupid? _Why didn't I see it sooner_?

"No, _I'm_ sorry, Ollie. I shouldn't have put you on the spot like that," she said.

That scene she was forced to witness… It was all the confirmation she needed. Oliver was absorbed by her, by this little blonde girl with the nerdy face and the tight gray dress. She could see it in the way they looked at each other, the way his walls had come down immediately when she smiled at him.

Laurel hadn't seen Oliver smile like that, so genuinely, since he came back from the island. When did this girl gain all that power over him? It used to be _her_ who had that exclusive access to Oliver's true self. Now she felt like an outsider, someone intruding in a very private world. She needed to get out of there.

"It was a mistake coming here," Laurel said, and Oliver could hear a slight trembling in her voice.

"Laurel…"

"No, Ollie, really. It's fine. And don't worry, I won't say anything about you and…" She looked over at Felicity trying to draw back the name from one of the many times Oliver had said it.

"Felicity," she prompted with a nervous smile. "Felicity Smoak. We met before... twice actually."

"Right, Felicity. Happiness and good fortune, how appropriate," she said and her lips twisted in a strange, sad smile. "Goodbye, Ollie."

Laurel grabbed her folder and walked away. Oliver wanted to go after her, he wanted to tell her the truth, to ease the sadness out of her face but he knew there was nothing he could do about it right now so he turned to face Felicity, only she was pale as a ghost and staring blankly into space.

"Felicity, are you okay?"

All he got was a couple of blinks and a failed attempt to grasp for air.

"Here, sit down." Felicity obeyed and Oliver kneeled down in front of her. "Hey, look at me. It's okay."

There was a bit of pink now on her cheeks but her eyes wandered through Oliver's face in a hurry. "I'm _so _sorry, Oliver. I don't know what I was thinking! How could I tell her that? She obviously wasn't going to believe me. I should've… I should've thought of something better. I mean… you going out with me, right… cuz' that makes a lot of sense."

Felicity dropped her head in her hands and let out a muffled 'oh God!'. Oliver couldn't help but smile at how desperately concerned Felicity was. He stood up and walked over to the window looking out at the Starling City lake.

"Apparently it makes a lot more sense than you think."

Felicity frowned and turned on the chair to look at him "What are you talking about?"

"According to Isabel everyone at Queen Consolidated thinks there's more of a _personal_ relationship between us. Something to do with your skirts being too short."

"My what?" Felicity looked down at her legs and tugged at the hem of her dress a bit making Oliver smirk again. "Was this before or _after_ you two got to play Russian Twister, the nude edition?" Oliver could hear the sarcasm in her voice. Clearly she still wasn't ok with that. "Unbelievable! She thought you were sleeping with me and yet... she still got in line."

"I told her it wasn't like that."

"Gee, thanks. Why didn't you say something to _me_?"

"I didn't think it was important," he defended himself.

"What do you mean it's not important?!" Felicity realized if someone heard this conversation it wouldn't help the situation at all. She stood up and went to the window. "People think I'm sleeping with my boss and you don't find that important?" she whispered.

"Says the woman who just told Laurel we're dating."

"That's different! I was trying to keep your secret. I didn't know people were already talking about it! I thought… I don't know, that maybe if by some miracle Laurel believed that ridiculous story then you could wait some time and then tell her it didn't work out or something. And that would be it, crisis avoided, no harm done… other than Laurel thinking I was one of _those_ blondes. But it would be _just_ Laurel, not everyone I work with!"

Felicity was close to a full on panic attack and the worst part was Oliver didn't seem to be grasping the seriousness of the situation.

"You need to calm down. If there's one thing people do is talk. I'm used to it, you'll be fine too."

_Is he being serious right now!?_

"Oliver just because people think you're playboy billionaire since… forever doesn't mean everything will be fine. Even Laurel will get over it once you tell her what you actually do after hours – because I know you will eventually – but_ I_ still have a reputation to salvage and I'd like to think I could go out with a guy one day without having the awkward 'No, I didn't sleep with Oliver Queen' conversation."

Oliver's brow went up.

"Not that I think sleeping with you would be a bad thing. Or a good thing, necessarily. What am I even saying? God! This is so not the point I was trying to make."

He pushed back a smile. Truth is he liked that about her, how her thoughts ran wild and everything came pouring out of her mouth like a pack of horses. It made her transparent, the complete opposite of what he was with his bag of secrets and his dark corners.

He gave her shoulder a squeeze.

"Felicity, it'll be fine. We'll think of something."

Felicity looked into his eyes. It was hard to hold on to fear when you looked into Oliver Queen's eyes. There was something about them that made you feel enraptured, like everything around them just faded away. She felt safe.

She nodded slowly. Back on her desk she was unlocking the screen on her tablet when Oliver peeked out from the office.

"Felicity?"

"Hmm?" she said distractedly before even looking up at him.

"Thank you," Oliver acknowledged.

Felicity's stomach did a double back flip.

"No problem," she says with a smile to hide the fact that her legs just turned to jelly and there's a tingling somewhere in her body she can't pinpoint. "For you anytime," she mutters under her breath, trying to focus back on her work and not on the fact that right now someone actually thinks she's Oliver's girl. Oh well, a girl can dream.

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**_Oh ouh! What trouble did these two get themselves into? Hopefully A LOT, am I right? haha Next chapter our favourite boss/assistant duo will face the consequences of their little lie. Feel free to leave a comment and let me know how you like the start for our story. Place your bets, people! What do you think will happen next? We'll see! xOxO Wordaholic._**

_P.S.: For those of you waiting on an update for "Mark My Words" I have to give my most sincere apologies. The muse has left the building for now :/ Chapter IX is called "The Other Mikaelson" and it's already over 2000 words long but just not quite done yet. I promise to get back on it as soon as the muse makes an epic return. Hang in there with me! Thanks for the love you've given to the story and rest assured I WILL deliver the rest of the story cuz' Klaroline leaves on!_

**_Sorry for the lenthy A/N, it's the only one, I promise. Lots of love! _**


	2. Chapter 2

_Hello there! It's me again. I can't believe how incredibly supportive you've all been of my story. I had the best time reading all your comments and predictions and I feel like we're sharing the story together which is just a wonderful feeling. In honour of your massive support in favouriting and following this story I've decided to post the 2nd chapter today. I can't promise all of the updates will be this quick but you definitely deserve it. Also, thanks to whoever added my story the "oliver's IT girl" community. I'm honoured and humbled by that *.* So, here it is, chapter II. Hope you enjoy!_

**_Disclaimer: If I could own Oliver, Diggle and Felicity I would in a heart beat, but since I can't then I write fanfiction overflowing with feels._**

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**Chapter II – The Gossip**

Work was piling up over at Queen Consolidated. Oliver was almost wishing for a crime so he could drop everything and hood up. He'd been pulling late nights with Felicity actually _working __at the office,_ going over a year's worth of projection reports and mind numbing pie charts. Even Isabel had to admit now, Felicity's qualifications were plenty regardless of her skirt collection.

_So what if her skirts are short? She has nice legs…_

It was only when Felicity popped in to announce she was off to lunch that Oliver realized he'd been thinking about her legs.

Maybe she _should_ start wearing longer skirts, it was obviously distracting.

He asked her to wait for him. He wanted to double check the profit percentage for QC's science division before the meeting with Isabel later on that day.

"You know, this lunch hour is supposed to be my free time," Felicity pointed. "Not that I mind spending it on work, of course," she rushed when she saw he was about to play the boss card on her.

Once on the elevator, Felicity pulled out her tablet and started reciting the figures back to Oliver for the hundredth time.

He stopped her after the third one, leaning over her shoulder to glance at the screen.

"Are you sure about that last one?"

"Oliver, if there's one thing I know how to do is read numbers off a screen. It's not that hard..." When she turned to glare at him wasn't expecting his face to be _that_ close.

Felicity stared into the blue immensity of his eyes for what felt like hours until the elevator doors opened somewhere among the lower floors and two women in matching navy blue uniforms got in.

Oliver acknowledged them casually when they gave him the usual 'Good morning, Mr. Queen' and then went back to checking the numbers on Felicity's screen.

She resumed her recount of the numbers on her tablet but there was something different about her voice now, a slight tremor. Oliver noticed she was shifting uncomfortably on her feet too, twitching her face away from him as if she was trying to put more distance between them.

Was _he_ making her uncomfortable? They usually worked a lot closer than that at the foundry and she never seemed to mind. Sure, she didn't like it when he hovered but still… Felicity would never cower away from him like that; if anything she'd throw him a laser stare over her glasses and tell him to go sharpen his arrows or something.

Someone giggled behind them and Oliver turned to look. The two women looked quickly away coughing dramatically to hide their laughter. Oliver was about to dismiss the scene when he glanced back at Felicity. One pink lip trapped tightly between her teeth and now she was staring straight down at the elevator floor. The pieces clicked... They were talking about her.

It wasn't _him_ making Felicity uncomfortable, at least not directly. The rumors must have got worst after a week of overtime and getting picked up by his private limo all the time. Felicity wasn't used to being in the midst of a gossip hurricane and he was now realizing what a toll it must be taking on her.

Why hadn't she said anything to him? Of course, she wouldn't. Felicity would be silly enough to think she brought this upon herself; she might even go as far as to think she deserved it.

When one of the women started whispering again, Oliver made a decision. Maybe it was time to put his working knowledge of the gossiping world to good use.

"Felicity, my mother says she wants you to have dinner with us at the mansion again tonight."

The whispering was replaced by complete and utter silence, broken only by the sound of the elevator and the voice of a very startled Felicity. It was all Oliver could do not to laugh at the tiny _o_ her lips were making.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Yes, they granted her parole yesterday until the trial. I thought I'd told you that," Oliver frowned a little, searching for something in his memory.

_Why… why is he acting like this is a normal conversation?_

Felicity couldn't answer even if she tried, which was a good thing because apparently Oliver was running a show of his own there.

"Anyway, I told her we were busy with the shareholders but she said she didn't want to hear it and made me promise we'd both be at dinner tonight. She's throwing a whole family thing with Roy and Thea, too. You're not going to make me into the kind of son who lies to his mother, are you?"

Oliver gave her this puppy-eyed smile that she would have never thought could go on that face. No wonder he had a reputation for a playboy. _Stop doing that, you look too gorgeous doing that!_

What came next not even a year of anticipation could prepare her for. Somehow one of Oliver's hands was on the low of her back and he was so close to her earl the warmth of his breath was making the hairs on her neck stand.

Felicity swallowed hard in an effort to keep her sanity. And then he spoke…

"It'll be fun, I promise."

_Ooh god…! _How is one supposed to stand after that? Felicity was pretty sure her brain flat-lined. She made what could be taken as a shaky nod and something that sounded a little like 'suure'.

Oliver smiled a bit. She knew because his stubble grazed the rim of her ear when he did.

"Good," he said. "Remind me to give her a call and let her know."

Just like that, as if there weren't a million things wrong with that sentence.

Not only had Felicity never set foot in the Queen mansion, she certainly wasn't expecting an invitation from Moira Queen herself any time soon, especially not to a "whole family thing with Roy and Thea, too." The girl was mortified, not to say completely lost, and the fact that Oliver's hand still lingered on her back was not helping.

At least he was facing the elevator doors now instead of breathing down her neck like that. What was he thinking? She swore she could hear Becky and Linda back there texting the entire financial department what an interesting elevator ride Easy Felicity and the Prodigal Son had when they forgot someone was watching.

They would add their own personal twist to it, of course. By now that hand on her back must have transformed into hot, passionate sex against the side mirrors. She'd be surprised if she didn't come out of that elevator pregnant with twins and blackmailing Oliver into marrying her to take over his company.

Finally, after what had to be the longest elevator ride in the history of buildings, they made it to ground floor. As soon as the doors opened Felicity tried to make a run for it but Oliver's deceptively strong hand crept around to her waist locking her in place.

_Please, no more!_ If this was a dream Felicity wanted to wake up because it was slowly turning into a nightmare. Or at least have someone _tell her_ it was a dream so she could enjoy being manhandled by Oliver in peace.

"I think we should get Italian this time. What do you think? That little place from the other day was nice."

Felicity ventured a look at his face and yes, he was looking at her, the perfect image of a man completely at ease with himself and the situation. _Oliver Queen: CEO, leather-wearing vigilante and professional liar_, Felicity thought incredulously.

He'd asked a question. She should probably answer something.

"Italian. Sounds good."

_Sorry, Oliver, improvisation is not my thing, you know that._

He seemed satisfied.

"Italian it is, then. Here, let me help you with that."

In what seemed like just one move Oliver had Felicity's tablet and the binder she was carrying in one hand along with his briefcase while his other hand came to zip with Felicity's, wrapping his manly, big fingers around her much more delicate ones.

She had to look down at her hand to make sure this was actually happening. The image was certainly there, Oliver's hand in hers, but it just didn't quite click with reality. She gave it a testing squeeze just to make sure. _Yup, that's Oliver's hand alright._

Felicity let herself be practically dragged out of the elevator by him. She was like a zombie walking alongside Oliver until he stopped to greet a group of men who were apparently competing for Boring Suit of the Year.

"Arthur! Glad I ran into you. Listen, I need you to stop by my office later. Those interns you sent me? They managed to break down half the printers on the top floor in one morning. And one of them keeps harassing the secretaries. I'd say we need to hire a new one, don't you?"

Felicity's heart sunk. That was Arthur Phillip, a prematurely bald man in his mid forties and head of Human Resources. He was also the one who interviewed Felicity for the job in the IT department when she first came to Queen Consolidated. She felt like dying right then and there.

Oliver must have guessed she'd try to flee the scene because his hand closed tighter around her own.

"No problem, Mr. Queen," the man said. "I'll set up a list and meet you at your office around… three?"

"Excellent," Oliver returned with a smile. The men said their goodbyes and all the while Felicity could feel everyone's eyes on her, on _them_.

They made their way - painfully slow - to the front door where Diggle was already waiting by the car.

He and Oliver shared a talent for hiding their emotions.

"Do I even want to know?" he said pulling the door out for them.

"Not now," Oliver warned him. All Felicity could do was stare down at the ground.

"Felicity, you can let go of me now."

"Huh? Oh… right." She slipped her fingers out of his grasp and got in the car, sliding over mechanically so Oliver could follow after her.

The three of them rode in silence until Felicity found a way to put words into sentences again.

"Oliver, what was that?"

"Yes, Oliver, what _was_ that?" Diggled echoed looking at his buddy through the rearview mirror with a coy smirk.

Oliver pressed his lips into a hard, thin line.

"That was… damage control. You were right, Felicity. People were spreading rumors and I should've done something about it."

"But I didn't mean _that._ Oliver, you just gave the entire company enough material to go on for a month!"

"Exactly, and now that they got what they wanted they'll move on and leave you alone."

Oliver tried to ignore Diggle's knowing glance on the mirror. He'd rather pretend not to know what his friend was still smiling about.

"Look, I know a thing or two about the way gossip works. People attack you with what they think will embarrass you. Once you show them you have nothing to hide they get bored and find something else to talk about."

"But we _do_ have a lot to hide. Like, oh I don't know… a basement full of green, pointy arrows and one high profile vigilante who poses as CEO for his family's company in his spare time…"Felicity contended.

"Yes, but they don't know that, so we'll give them one false secret big enough to distract them from the real one. This was actually _your_ idea, Felicity."

"My… How is any of this my idea?!"

"You told Laurel you were with me, it was brilliant. Everyone already thinks it's true so they won't ask questions and now we'll have a perfect excuse to disappear as needed. Perhaps we should have thought of this sooner."

Felicity wasn't about to buy into that cheap psychology trick of making her believe she was the one to come up with this ludicrous plan.

"This is not what I had in mind, Oliver."

"Isn't this going to make it harder for Felicity at the office?" Diggle was serious now, his reflection showing a frown on his forehead. He voiced Felicity's silent question. She already felt like an outcast at QC as it was.

"It is one thing to be the boss' hidden affair; it is a whole other story to be Oliver Queen's girlfriend." He found Felicity's eyes to make sure she was paying attention. "I may have been known for playing around with more than my fair share of women in the past, but everyone knows I never publicly dated anyone other than Laurel. They'll think I'm that serious about you and no one wants to mess with the boss' girl. At least not to her face anymore," he said with a wink.

Felicity wanted to be as convinced as he was but she just...

Oliver's hand made its way to Felicity's knee.

"They won't bother you, Felicity, I promise."

As always, Felicity's worries seemed to settle down obediently under Oliver's touch. He was becoming her own personal Valium and she just knew addictions never end well. Felicity dipped her head back on the car seat and stared out the window.

Oliver's hand rested on her knew a couple more seconds before he pulled away while Felicity made a silent prayer... _Please, please, please don't let me fall in love with Oliver Queen_.

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_Aha! Our hero to the rescue! Don't you wish you had an Oliver to pretend to be your boyfriend just to save your honor? Excuse me while I go swoon haha Let me know what you thought of this chapter on the comment section. Buckle up people, this is just the beginning! If you like this story please feel free to share it with others as well. You can find me on Tumblr watsonmysherlock_

**_One more thing, can you guess where I got the idea for the title It Started With A Lie? First person to answer correctly on the comments gets a shout out on the next chapter ;)_**

_'Till next time, my lovelies. xOxO, WordaholiC_


	3. Chapter 3

_Hi! First of all thank you SO MUCH for all your feedback and encouragement. Thanks to those of you who had questions and suggestions too, they were all taken into consideration for this chapter so if you have more please keep them coming! Also thanks to those who took a guess at the reason behind the title of the story. The winner is featured on this chapter so be on the lookout for your username! I'll mention it at the end anyways._

_So, without further ado, here's chapter III, hope you enjoy!_

**_DISCLAIMER: The characters, the settings, the backstory in this fanfic... all of them belong to the creators of Arrow and DC Comics._**

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**Chapter III - The Dinner**

_9:01 AM_

_Stupid clock!_ It had refused to show anything other than 9:01 for the past forty seconds. Felicity was losing her patience. _Today is _not_ the day for you to be late, Oliver._

She decided to kill time by checking her tablet one more time. Who knows, maybe the article had disappeared somehow since the last time she'd looked. Maybe it'd all been a product of her imagination...

_Nope, there is it, still judging me with its little Arial 12 eyes._

The elevator bell clinged and she didn't have to wait long to find out who it was.

"Morning, Mr. Queen." The new intern, Sonia, was holding the elevator door open for him.

"Good morning, Sonia. Are you all set up around the office yet?"

"Yes, I am sir, thank you. I also gave Miss Smoak those reports you wanted. She said she'd leave them on your desk."

"Then I'm sure she did. Felicity!"

He called out to her and went straight into his office with Felicity following behind him, tablet in hand.

"We have a problem," she said.

"Hello to you, too." Oliver turned around, held her shoulder and planted a scruffy kiss on her cheek before setting into his desk.

There it was… that tingling again. Felicity took a sharp breath to level her pulse.

The morning kiss was part of Oliver's strategy to establish Felicity as his girlfriend inside the company. The first time he did it they'd been in the middle of the lobby and Felicity almost fainted. Now, almost five days since the elevator incident, she had to admit it wasn't getting any easier.

The plan seemed to be working, though. People's attitudes towards her were less harsh. Sure, she still got dirty looks from time to time, but mostly from other women and it looked a lot more like envy rather than hate.

_I'd be envious of me, too_, she thought.

Turns out Oliver was quite the attentive fake boyfriend, all charm and elegance. Add that to his natural protective stance plus those killer blue eyes and you had yourself one hell of a catch.

There was only one problem; Oliver was a little too convincing. Blame it on his mad acting skills, but whatever harmless, platonic crush Felicity had on him before this started, it had turned into a four-headed, delusional monster now.

"Felicity, you were saying…" Oliver demanded.

"Right, sorry." _Make that __two__ problems. _"Here," she said handing him the tablet.

Oliver unlocked the screen to reveal an article from Starling City's online tabloid _The Puppeteer_. It featured a picture of him and Felicity getting into the back of his car, crowned by a bold, pink-lettered headline that read 'Notorious Starling City Heartthrob, Oliver Queen, Has A New Lady in His Life'.

The photographer had caught Felicity in one of her usual lost girl looks, making that little _o_ with her mouth again. Oliver never noticed the smile on his face.

The little piece of news was an exclusive on Oliver's new relationship status…

_This has certainly been a tragic year for our favourite outcast and billion-dollar heir, Oliver Queen. With his new job as acting CEO of Queen Consolidated and his mother facing charges for her participation in the conspiracy that led to hundreds of deaths, including that of his childhood friend Tommy Merlyn, one would think Oliver didn't have time for anything else. However, nothing stands in the way of romance for our controversial playboy, who's been recently spotted several times with the same mystery blonde. _

_Sources have confirmed the woman's name is Felicity Smoak, former employee of the IT department at Queen Consolidated and current Executive Assistant to the handsome CEO. An informant within the company says the couple had been hiding their liaison for quite some time now. 'We all knew they were dating,' our source says, 'it was too obvious. They don't even bother hiding anymore, which is good because they weren't fooling anyone. You just had to take one look at them to see they're a lot more than boss and assistant.'_

_To tell you the truth we couldn't be happier to hear Oliver has found a new love in his life after being miraculously rescued from the deserted island where he spent the last five years. Considering the way things ended with his last formal girlfriend, Laurel Lance, it's safe to say the guy deserves a break. Now that Miss Lance is acting as co-counselor in the Moira Queen case, we expect Oliver's ex and current girlfriend to be crossing paths pretty soon. Exciting news for us drama lovers! Now we will definitely tune in to follow the biggest trial in the history of Starling City and hope we get to catch a glimpse of the new happy couple."_

"So? What are we going to do?" Felicity pressed.

"We… are going to dinner," he said looking up at her.

"Oliver, I meant about the article."

"Yes, I already knew about the article." He handed her back the tablet.

"You did? Huh, I didn't peg you as the tabloid reading type."

"I'm not. My mother told me about it."

Felicity's brain went into overdrive.

"Mrs. Queen read this?!"

"I don't know if she read it. I think it was a friend for the Historical Society who called her and told her about it. Bottom line is she wants me to take you home and officially introduce you … tonight."

Felicity shook her head emphatically. Her palms were sweating just thinking about it. There was no way she'd be able to go on with the actual thing.

"Oliver, I can't have dinner with your family."

"Felicity, we already decided this was the best way to keep everyone satisfied and off our case. Now all we got to do is stick to our story as convincingly as possible."

"But what if she finds out? This is not some person out on the street, this is your mother. She knows you, she's gonna know it's not real."

"Then we're gonna have to be extra good at convincing her," he said.

Felicity could already see this was a bad, bad idea.

* * *

The traffic light turned red and Diggle slowed to a halt. They were two blocks away from Felicity's building and he was driving Oliver to pick her up before heading over to the Queen's mansion. He glanced at his friend in the back of the car.

"Are you okay back there?"

Oliver took his eyes away from the window and looked at him.

"Sure, why wouldn't I be?"

"You look like you're over thinking something."

"Diggle, we're not having this conversation again."

"I don't think you have a choice, Oliver. You're getting yourself into dangerous territory by playing house with Felicity."

"I'm not… playing house, Diggle. I said I would protect her when she joined us. This is me protecting her."

"Like I said, I don't think you want to hurt her but this could get out of control, Oliver. You don't realize what this is doing to you or to her, and I'm not talking about your reputation. Felicity is a woman, you are a man. Things happen."

Oliver gave him a hard look.

"I don't need to be reminded of that, Diggle."

"Well, Felicity is doing a pretty good job at reminding you herself."

Diggle pulled up to the sidewalk and Oliver saw Felicity standing outside of her building in a one shoulder blue dress and her hair pulled to the side in a loose braid over her bare skin. She wasn't wearing her usual glasses but he could see her bright purple lips from the car.

Felicity got in the back seat with Oliver and the air was filled with her feminine scent.

Diggle gave her a smile through the mirror. "Looking good, Felicity."

"Thanks, I didn't know what fake girlfriends are supposed to wear when they meet actual disapproving mothers."

"You'll be fine," Oliver said. "Diggle, tell her she'll be fine. If my mother can take Roy and his criminal record I'm sure she can take you."

"Right, 'cause that's encouraging," she said sarcastically. Felicity took a deep breath and prepared for the worst.

Once they got to the house Oliver helped her out of the car and told Diggle to give them a call if anything came up at the foundry.

Felicity caught his elbow before he opened the door.

"Wait! I don't think I can do this."

"Felicity, you broke into an underground casino and jumped over an elevator shaft. Now you're telling me you can't have dinner with my mother."

"Oliver it's just…"

"Shht Felicity! We'll be fine. You're smart, you're funny and you look beautiful. Now just stay close to me and let's get this over with, alright?"

Felicity stared into his eyes and took a deep, cleansing breath.

"Ok, fine. Let's do this."

Oliver pushed the front door open and called out to let his mom know they were home. Felicity took in the inmensity of the house.

"I feel like I should be leaving my shoes at the front door or something."

"Please, don't do that," Oliver teased her. "My mom hates it when we leave our shoes lying around."

"That's true," said a female voice from the top of the stairs.

Felicity looked up. Moira Queen was making her way down and Oliver went over to greet her.

For a moment Felicity got distracted by how different Oliver was around his mother. He looked… sweet. The way he smiled and moved around her, it warmed her heart. She was glad she got to see that private side of Oliver, that little-boy look in his eyes instead of the sea of troubles that always plagued them.

Oliver brought his mother over to Felicity and suddenly the panic was back.

"Mom," he said naturally. "You already know my friend, Felicity Smoak."

Felicity shook her hand nervously. "Mrs. Queen, thank you so much for having me."

"Please, call me Moira," she corrected with a kind smile.

Felicity cleared her throat. "Alright, Moira… Huh, that might take a while."

"Let's hope you're around long enough then," she said throwing a hint at Oliver. "You'll have to forgive my son for his lack of manners. He shouldn't have waited so long to bring you over."

"Well, we're here now, aren't we?" Oliver chimed in. "So let's eat! I'm starving."

"Dinner is not ready yet," Moira warned him."Besides, we have to wait for Thea and Roy, they're on their way. Now, Felicity, tell me about yourself…"

Moira led Felicity over towards the living room while Oliver was left to follow behind them.

The three of them talked for a while over drinks and appetizers. Oliver was sitting down next to Felicity on a big XIX century couch while his mother asked questions from the arm chair across from them.

"Walter spoke very highly of you, Felicity," she said. "He thought you had character, that there was… loyalty in your eyes. I can see what he meant. I'm glad Oliver has found an ally in you as well. He deserves good people in his life, especially now."

Felicity felt wrong lying to Oliver's mother about the state of their relationship but at least she could be honest about this.

"It's kind of hard not to help him," Felicity said. "He's pretty convincing."

Oliver rested his hand on her shoulder. The musky scent of his cologne quickly wrapped around her and she had to fight the urge to dive into his body and just disappear into dreamland.

"Felicity is a remarkable woman, mom," Oliver said. He looked at his 'girlfriend' and again the world became a blur for her. There was nothing but his eyes. "I'm lucky I found her."

Felicity's heartbeat echoed rapidly in the background.

She thanked him, making a mental sketch of the way his lower lashes threw shadows over his cheeks and the way his eyes softened when he smiled.

Moira watched them curiously. Her son hadn't been the same since he came back from the island. She'd made a mistake at the beginning trying to push him to pick up where he left off as if nothing happened. Now she understood, _a lot_ had happened, he was scarred… he was broken. But so was she and so was the rest of her family, she couldn't judge her son anymore.

She loved him now for who he was, a man full of secrets but with a kind heart inside him. She was afraid other people wouldn't be able to see him for who he was now, both good _and_ bad. Even Thea held him up to the memory she had of him as did Laurel. Moira feared Laurel might still be in love with the Ollie that left her to go on the Queen's Gambit all those years ago. But now, looking at him with Felicity, Moira was starting to believe her son could heal. Perhaps he could find love again with a woman who looked at him like he was the world. Felicity didn't want him to be anything other than what he was, that much was evident.

They shared some more small talk as per promise, mostly about the company and the excessive media coverage the trial was getting. That was until Thea and her Arrow enthusiastic boyfriend showed up. If Felicity thought the worst was over once they won Moira over, she thought wrong.

Thea's boyfriend, Roy, was having a freak-out party of his own having to deal with Oliver and his big brother act, but Thea had her eyes set on Felicity the whole time and she didn't seem pleased with whatever she was seeing.

_She on to us_, Felicity thought. She had to be, why else would she be staring her down like that?

_Or maybe she just doesn't like you for her brother. _Yeah, well, that too.

No one seemed to be noticing anything strange about Thea's behavior towards Felicity so she eventually decided to put it down as a product of her active imagination and stopped being paranoid. Dinner was too good to be thinking about the holes in their plan.

Felicity was making her way back from the bathroom after they finished eating when the youngest Queen stopped her right outside the hall.

"Thea! You scared me. Did Oliver send you after me? I swear, this house is one door short from Inception. I keep waiting for Leonardo DiCaprio to pop around the corner and tell me to run."

Thea remained unfazed and Felicity shushed her giggling.

_Ahem... _"Is something wrong?" Felicity asked.

"That depends. I know what you and my brother are doing and it's not going to work," Thea dropped on her.

_I knew it! _Felicity tried to focus on some inner mantra to keep her cool. _It's ok, stay calm… Oliver where are you?!_

"I don't understand. What do you mean?" Felicity thought she sounded pretty convincing.

"This, you and Oliver, it's not real and we both know it."

"Thea, I…"

"No, listen, let me say this," Thea stopped her.

It was hard to remember this girl was only eighteen. _I guess when your father dies, your brother comes back to life and your mom is about to be sentenced to death you can't really be a teenager anymore_, Felicity granted. She waited in silence for their lie to be discovered.

"Ollie is going through a hard time right now, we all are, and he found something to distract himself with, good for him, but you and I both know the truth. My brother is not over Laurel yet. I don't think he ever will."

Felicity wouldn't be more shocked if Thea had said she knew Oliver was the Arrow. Whether Thea was saying this for her sake or Laurel's, she didn't know. Either way, all she could do was listen and try not to break.

"Look, you seem like a nice person so don't take this the wrong way. I'm actually saying it because I think you care about my brother. Ollie may say he's given up on Laurel right now but trust me, they always find a way back to each other. It's one of those epic love things. My advice, don't get caught up in it."

_Too late_, is what Felicity wanted to say, but then Oliver came out of the living room looking for her.

"Everything ok here?"

Thea's face morphed. "Of course," she said lightly. "Everything's fine. I should go get Roy. We have to stop by the club before it closes. Good to see you again, Felicity."

Thea smiled at Felicity but the eyes on her were a reminder of everything she just said.

"Back at you," Felicity said.

"Bye, Ollie."

Oliver leaned down so his sister could reach his cheek and let her by into the living room to look for Roy. He and Felicity were left alone in the corridor.

"Hey, are you ok?"

"Yup, all good," she lied. "Just got a bit lost back there. By the way, who hangs a Rita Ackermann painting in their bathroom?"

"Someone who has no room left in the hall," he admitted. "Now come on, I think my mother has a couple more embarrassing stories she wants to tell you."

Felicity grinned trying to put the scene with Thea behind her and enjoy the rest of the night, still her words kept playing in the back of her head. Moira brought out the old family pictures and they had a laugh over Oliver's brooding look as a baby. He also had the same fantastic smile.

Felicity felt horrible now after being reminded by Thea that she was only a stand in, a stop on Oliver's way to something bigger, to Laurel.

Her emotional wear must be coming out as exhaustion because soon Oliver yawned dramatically and got up.

"Mom, I think Felicity has seen enough embarrassing pictures of me for one night. I should take her home," he said helping Felicity up from the couch.

"What? No, no, none of that," Moira protested. "It's almost 1 am, Oliver. You're not going out at this hour. Besides, neither of you needs to be at the office tomorrow which means she can stay here. I'll get Silvia to bring her some fresh clothes for her to sleep in," she said already getting up to find her housekeeper.

"Mrs. Queen, that, uh, that's really not necessary at all. I mean, I can, uh, I can call a cab and Oliver won't have to go out at all."

"I said no," she cut her off. "And please, it's Moira. Oliver, you better not let this girl call for a cab at this hour, do you hear me?"

Felicity was going to protest again but Oliver's pressure on her shoulder warned her against it.

"Loud and clear, mom," he said.

"Good," she said satisfied. "Now, I'm gonna go find Silvia and I'll send her up to your room, Ollie."

She kissed her son goodnight and smiled over at Felicity taking one of her hands between her own.

"Thanks for coming tonight, Felicity. It's been lovely to have you. Please make sure you come back soon, before the trial, alright? Have a good night, sweety."

She gave Felicity's hand a squeeze and the girl just nodded with the most natural smile she could conjure.

Once Moira was out of the living room Felicity turned to face Oliver with wide eyes.

"Ok, I'm pretty sure a sleepover was not part of the plan," she said between gritted teeth.

"Felicity, not now."

He kept his hand on her shoulder leading her to the stairs.

"Oliver, no! Are you kidding me? You sneak into places with their own surveillance army and you're telling me you can't sneak me out of your own house? No, I'm not staying here."

He tried to keep going but Felicity planted her feet down. Oliver sighed and leaned down to her finding her eyes.

"My house _has_ its own private army, Felicity. I'd rather not risk someone catching us trying to sneak out and throw away all the progress we've made tonight. My mother asked you to stay, that's a good thing. Now, please don't make me carry you up the stairs."

Felicity wouldn't cave.

"Oliver, I really think we should…"

Before she could finish Oliver wrapped one arm around her waist and almost floated her backwards into the wall, pinning her there with his whole body.

Felicity couldn't breathe. She just felt the itchiness of his stubble against her temple and a heartbeat, _his heartbeat_, going steady against her chest.

"Oliver, what…"

He shushed her in a whisper and she obeyed, mostly because speaking was not an easy task at the moment. Besides, if she spoke maybe it would all vanish and she'd be home in her pajamas watching The Big Bang Theory re-runs instead of pressed between a wall and Oliver Queen.

_One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi_… Felicity counted in her head and he was gone. He looked around the room a few times before setting his eyes on Felicity again.

"Someone was coming in. I didn't want them to overhear," he explained.

Felicity cleared her throat and fixed a few loose strands of hair.

"So you decided to pin me on the wall."

Oliver fished for the right excuse, one that would convince her _and_ him.

"You talk too fast, I had to think faster. Now please, let's go. I'm tired and we're not getting out of this house tonight."

"Wow, straight into bed, are we? I wish I could say this is the fastest relationship I've ever been in... And now you're going to forget I ever said that because that just makes me sound _really_ easy. It's not like I do that all the time, it was a one-time thing really, you know, college… I think it was the same night I ate that pot brownie..."

"Felicity!"

"Right, bedroom," she said looking at him. "Sorry. You lead the way, captain."

Oliver clenched his jaw and started going up the stairs. It must be exhausting being inside Felicity's head all day.

They made it to his room and Oliver shut the door behind them. Felicity sort of wandered around, trailing her hands over the fabrics in the room, the curtains, the bed sheets, the velvet cushions, glancing at the knick-knacks and pictures lining up the shelves.

There was a knock on the door and Oliver took the pair of fresh cotton pajamas, some towels and bathroom essentials from their housekeeper. He gave them over to Felicity and pointed her towards the ensuite bathroom.

Oliver found a pair of sweat pants to wear and decided to put on a T-shirt too for Felicity's sake. She'd probably seen him shirtless a thousand times by now but to be honest the situation was kind of awkward.

As Diggle so kindly planted in his mind earlier that evening, Felicity may be his friend but she was also a woman, and now she was a woman stepping out of his bathroom in her pajamas and with no makeup or shoes on. She'd untied her braid so the little blonde curls danced lightly over her chest. Oliver realized he'd been staring at her so he cleared his throat and handed her a bed cover.

"Here, I'll take this side of the bed, you take the other." Oliver turned off the main lights and the room was left with the dim light coming from two bedside lamps now. He waited for her to sit on the bed before laying down himself over the covers and turning off the lamp on his side. "I'll drive you home in the morning," he said covering his eyes with one arm and relaxing onto the mattress. "Goodnight, Felicity."

"Goodnight."

Felicity watched him for a second. She let out a soft breath, turned her lamp off too and settled down next to him straight as an arrow… no pun intended.

She laid there looking at the ceiling, too aware of his presence next to her to fall asleep. After a few minutes Oliver broke the silence, his arm still over his face.

"Felicity, you're not sleeping."

"Sorry, it's just… I can't sleep with _you _on the bed."

"I sleep with me on the bed all the time."

His lips pulled up in a smirk covered by the darkness.

"And now you're mocking me. Nice."

"Diggle will be waiting for us at the foundry tomorrow."

"Pressuring me to sleep is not exactly going to help, Oliver."

He uncovered his face and looked at her.

"Are you sure there's not something else bothering you?"

Felicity thought about for a second before answering.

"Your sister doesn't like me."

Oliver propped up on his elbow. He looked at her with a frown.

"Thea? What makes you think that?"

"The fact that she told me so herself."

"When?"

"It's ok. She's just looking out for you, I understand."

"What did she say exactly?"

Felicity wasn't about to tell him _exactly _what she said. She settled for the outline version.

"She thinks you're in love with Laurel and I'm standing in the way."

"I'll talk to her..."

"No!" Felicity turned to look at him. "Oliver, you can't do that. She's gonna know I said something and then she's gonna think I'm a snitch, that I'm trying to play you against her. Please, don't say anything. _I _shouldn't have said anything. It's fine, really."

"You sure?"

"Yes, now go to sleep. Aren't you supposed to be tired or something?"

Oliver smirked and settled back on the bed.

"Goodnight, Felicity."

"Goodnight."

His hand found hers on the bed and pressed on it gently. "You did very well tonight. I hadn't seen my mother smile in a while, so thank you."

She flinched but her fingers instinctively closed around his. They were warm and she'd come to know them after holding them so many times in the past few days. She didn't know exactly when she felt asleep but somehow when she opened her eyes, it was morning.

* * *

_So there is it! What did you think of our little babies on a date night? Unexpected sleepover but wait till you see the morning after. Let's see how long Oliver manages to hold on to his 'friend' premise._

_Congratulations to **The Puppeteer** who guessed the title is an adaptation of the Taiwanese drama 'It Started With A Kiss'. I recommend it, it's quite good. Some of you had some really interesting guesses too. The Proposal is one of my favourite movies and the song idea was genius, now I can't get it off of my mind haha A special shout out to the people coming from the Olicity tag on Tumblr, thanks for taking the time to check this out. Don't forget to leave a comment and I'll see you on the next chapter. xOxO WordaholiC_


	4. Chapter 4

_Hello Oliciters! Here's chapter 4. Enjoy!_

**_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story._**

* * *

**Chapter IV - The Morning After**

"No!"

The poor maid let go of the door handle as if it were burning, startled by Moira's cry.

"Mrs. Queen," she said coming back from the shock. "I was just going to clean up Mr. Oliver's room."

Moira caught up with her and gave her an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, Silvia, I didn't mean to scare you. Oliver is not up yet."

The maid looked at Moira like she was speaking Chinese.

"But… it's 9 AM already. Mr. Oliver is never home at this hour."

"I know. He and his _friend_ haven't been out of the room yet," Moira hinted, with a look that spoke volumes.

Silvia took a few seconds and then whispered a long, understanding o_h_ smiling at her employer. They'd known each other for years and the Queen children were practically her own by now.

"Let's give them a few more minutes, don't you think?" Moira offered, leading Silvia away from the door.

"I'll fix them some breakfast then."

"Perfect," said Moira with a complicit smile.

The two women walked down the hall in giggles, exchanging impressions on Oliver's new _friend._ They both agreed; Felicity was adorable.

Oliver woke up to the sound of distant laughter in his head. He didn't open his eyes immediately. Several occasions of waking up in the wrong place had taught him never to open your eyes unless you're sure of your surroundings.

Through his closed eyelids he could still sense the room was a lot lighter than usual. Normally when he woke up it was still dark outside. Memories from the island mixed with new ones from last year haunted him in his sleep and never waited until sunrise to wake him up covered in sweat. Now there even seemed to be birds singing outside.

He clenched his hands a bit to check the surface around him. It felt soft, like his mattress, perhaps too soft and a little bit too comfortable beneath his right hand. Still, familiar enough so he didn't think it was a cell on a boat in the middle of the ocean.

Oliver felt a weight on his chest, but he was used to that. It was part of the guilt he carried, the permanent state of anxiety and alert. The weight seemed lighter today though, and focused towards his right side... _What's going on?_

Oliver opened his eyes tentatively, blinking away from the sunlight a couple times as it was coming in strong from the window to his right. He looked down at his chest to check for the cause of the misplaced weight. What he found was a thousand threads of yellow silk tangled across his chest that went up and down with his breathing.

_What?_

He adjusted his sight and also his memory of last night's events. Those were not threads of yellow silk, well, not exactly. That was Felicity's hair reflecting back the sunlight from the window onto his face. Felicity's hair that was attached to Felicity's head which was currently resting peacefully next to his heart alongside Felicity's tiny hand and brightly colored fingernails holding on to his left bicep.

_What the hell happened last night?!_

The events started to line up in his memory; the article, the dinner, the albums, the bed… Ok, so he _didn't_ do anything stupid, they'd actually ended up in bed both sober, both fully dressed, and both with the sole intention of actually sleeping.

_Phew! _

Felicity stirred at Oliver's sigh of relief and he went stiff, clenching his hands on the mattress, not wanting her to wake up yet.

He noticed again how the mattress felt different under his right hand, softer, more rounded, like he could squish it, which he did. It felt more like a pillow, a soft, round pillow wrapped up in a pair of pink cotton pajama bottoms...

_That is NOT the mattress, man!_

Oliver snapped his hand away, hoping to God he hadn't spent all night like that. Felicity stirred again and Oliver fused onto the mattress so she wouldn't wake.

_Diggle, man, this is all your fault. Why did you have to go on about Felicity and her... womanhood?_

Felicity was sleeping soundly and then he realized... so had he. For the first time in a long time he'd slept the entire night with no dreams, no nightmares, and no blood curling screams. Oliver glanced down at the sleeping beauty on his chest. She fitted kind of perfectly to his body. Her slender leg was drapped over the muscles of _his_ leg and it wrapped effortlessly over the knee so that her toes touched gently on his ankle. She was all softness, and curves, and sunlight hair, wrapper around his stone hard frame.

Oliver couldn't see her face from this angle but he didn't have to, he could close his eyes and reproduce it down to a tee. She truly was a remarkable woman, a mix of innocence and strength, but also – and he'd been noticing this lately – also beauty, the kind of delicate, untouched beauty he couldn't get near to. Being around him had already changed her a lot; the war they fought had chipped away at her innocence and added to her strength. Strength was good, yes, but too much strength could change a person. He didn't want her be broken like he was; he didn't want _this_ Felicity to get lost in the battle.

There was a quiet knock on the door and Oliver pretended to be asleep before Felicity could wake up. He felt stupid but the idea of facing her as they were, all wrapped up around each other, was not something he was looking forward to. There was a knock again and this time Felicity gasped and sat on the bed, probably as she realized the position they'd been sleeping in - Good thing his hand was off her butt by now.

Oliver heard a muffled 'Oh God' and he had to try really hard not to smile at the thought of what her face must look like right then looking around in desperation. He decided it was best to 'wake up' now so he stretched a bit on the bed and opened his sleepy eyes.

"Hey," he said in a hoarse voice.

"Oliver, there's someone at the door."

"Hmm? Oh, that must be Silvia. What time is it?"

Felicity glanced around for a clock. Nothing.

"What kind of room doesn't have a clock?"

"One that belongs to a lazy billionaire who lived in a constant hangover. That's still supposed to be me, remember?"

"Yeah, well, you're also a CEO now so get your alter ego a watch."

Oliver scoffed and picked up his phone from the bedside table. He frowned at the screen.

"What?" Felicity asked with a tinge of worry.

"It's almost ten," said Oliver incredulously.

"Oh my God, Diggle! He must have been waiting at the foundry for hours."

"First things first, Felicity. I'll get the door."

Oliver walked over to the door and Felicity noticed she was still sitting on the bed. She knew it was pointless but for some reason she didn't want anyone to actually _see_ her on Oliver's bed so she ran to the bathroom and peaked her head out to the door.

Oliver shook his head trying to ignore the jumping bunny in his room and opened the door to his former nanny.

"Silvia!"

"Sorry to bother you, Mr. Queen, but breakfast's ready for you and your friend. If you'd be so kind to join your mother downstairs…"

"Thank you, we'll be right there. And please, no Mr. Queen. Mr. Queen was my father, you know that."

The lady smiled.

"Well, _Oliver_, here are some fresh clothes for your friend. Pretty girls don't like to have breakfast with their mother-in-law wearing last night's clothing. Especially good ones like _her_," she said gesturing at Felicity's head poking out of the bathroom.

The blonde smiled embarrassed and stepped out of the bathroom tapping her feet together.

"Hello," she said.

"Morning, miss," greeted Silvia with warmth. "Here you go, Ollie," she said handing the clothes to the man she still saw as a boy sometimes. "Don't let your food get cold."

He ducked his head once and walked back into the room, giving Felicity the clothes.

"You heard the woman."

Oliver walked past her to the bathroom and two minutes later she heard the shower running.

Felicity checked herself on the hallway mirror. The oversized sweater and skinny black jeans fit her pretty well and she'd managed to settle her hair into a low ponytail and trade the contacts for her comfy glasses.

Outside of the kitchen Oliver stopped to let her go first. He then placed his unsettling hand in the small of her back leading her in.

"Morning, mom," Oliver announced.

"Oliver, you're here! Felicity, dear, good morning," Moira said kissing Felicity's cheek lightly while pressing on her shoulders. "Here, sit down. How long has it been since we had breakfast together?" she asked looking at her son.

"Too long," said Oliver sitting down next to Felicity and taking a strip of bacon with his fingers into his mouth. "Where's Thea?" he asked.

"Thea's with Roy. She didn't come home last night after she left. Don't give me that look, Oliver. Your sister is doing fine, she deserves a free pass from time to time."

"Perhaps she should extend the same courtesy," Oliver pointed.

Felicity dug her blue nails on his thigh under the counter and Oliver stopped talking, not exactly because of the warning but because he felt that all the way to his spine.

He clenched his jaw and focused on his plate, waiting until his head was clear enough to rejoin the conversation that Felicity stirred away from the topic of Thea.

"Did they set a date for the trial yet?"

"Yes, a week from now," Moira said. "They told me I don't have to go back to the prison until then which is a good thing, I guess. At this point I'll take what I can get."

Moira smiled but Felicity could hear the fear and sadness in her voice. She reached over the counter for Moira's hand.

"Good things happen to good people and I can see a lot of good in you," she told her. "Everything will work out, you'll see."

Moira looked at her, warmed by her kindness.

"I'll leave you two to finish your breakfast. Let me know if you'll be home for dinner tonight."

She got up and kissed her son's forehead.

"I love you, sweetie."

"Love you too, mom."

She said goodbye to Felicity and set off to get ready for her attorney to come visit.

"You look comfortable enough around my mother," said Oliver once Moira was gone.

"I like her. Too bad her son has the table manners of a cave man," she said, reffering to the way he kept grabbing the bacon from the plate with his bare hands.

"I _was_ a cave man," he reminded her.

"Right, island man, why do I keep forgetting that?"

Felicity got up to pour herself some coffee and she brought a steaming cup for him as well.

"Here," she said, setting the cup in front of Oliver.

"I thought you said you weren't bringing me coffee, ever. I believe this makes two," he said.

"Yeah, well, two is all you're getting mister," she warned him and sat back on her stool.

Oliver smirked and brought the cup up to his lips. They enjoyed the silence until his phone rang.

"Dig," he said into the receiver. Felicity's watched him attentively and then Oliver's face went sour. "When?... Alright, we're on our way."

"What's wrong?"

"Take that to go. Officer Lance sent a text message, he wants our help."

"Did he say what it was?"

"Something about a girl being kidnapped, I don't know. Let's go."

She downed the last shot of coffee and met Oliver outside.

"Oliver, where are you going? The car is _this_ way."

"We're not taking the car. Cars come with drivers; we don't want a driver dropping us off at Verdant at this hour. Take this."

"That… is a motorcycle helmet."

Oliver gave her the death glare.

"Alright, hold on. Oh God, I'm so not made for this… Ok, there, I'm on, I think. No, no, wait! Wait, I haven't put on the helmet yet. There, alright, now we're good. Hit me! I mean, you can start the bike now."

Oliver chose not to comment and the bike's engine roared beneath her sending shivers all the way to her glasses.

"Woah, I can totally see why biker chicks like this."

"Hold on tight," Oliver yelled over the sound of the engine begging for speed.

"Now you're just saying things to spike me," Felicity muttered, wrapping her arms around his torso. Oliver felt big, and strong, and too good to be true.

She forced herself not to rest her helmet head on his back and Oliver let go of the brakes making the bike jump into action. Felicity squealed and clenched her thighs on both sides of Oliver's legs. His blue-eyed smile was hidden behind the visor and he kept the bike just a little bit faster than necessary for the rest of the ride. Felicity's whole body never loosened its grip around him.

* * *

"No… no, you listen to _me_. That is not what we agreed on… Well, too bad… Look, I'm sending someone over right now and those orders better be ready when he gets there. Goodbye."

Thea hanged up the phone leaving the supplier talking to himself at the other end of the line. She pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration.

"Roy! Roy, can you come up here for a second?"

The boy was setting down a pair of boxes behind the bar. He finished up and joined his girlfriend on the second floor at Verdant.

"What's up?"

"Can you drop by the pier and supervise the delivery for the vodka bottles? This guy is trying to change the terms of the order now and I need someone there to make sure he doesn't."

"Sure, no problem, babe."

"Thanks, _babe_," she said mocking him. She gave him a quick kiss. "You're my savior."

"Yeah, try and remember that next time you decide to get mad at me. And speaking of mad," he said. "What was that about last night with Nerdy Barbie?"

Thea looked at him puzzled.

"What? What do you mean?"

"I'm talking about you going all 'scary rich girl' on your brother's girlfriend."

"She's not…"

"What, 'not his girlfriend'? When was the last time you saw a girl that hot be _just_ an assistant?" Roy saw he was stepping on dangerous ground when Thea's eyes narrowed at him. "I mean, your brother wasn't exactly hiding it, Thea. Besides, you don't bring your assistant home to meet your mom and your scary little sister on Friday night if you don't intend to make her part of the family. I think I even saw them on the news or something the other day."

Thea went wide-eyed.

"What?"

"Yeah, unless your brother is banging another blonde too in which case…" Roy stopped himself before he made an admiring comment about Oliver's ability to date multiple women at the same time. He also noticed Thea looked even less pleased now. "Hey, what's with the face? Did she do something to you?"

"No! No, she didn't do anything. It's just…"

"What?" Roy prompted.

Thea sighed and looked at him.

"Ollie is supposed to be with Laurel."

"Laurel, that's the cop's daughter, right? I thought that whole thing with your brother kinda crashed and burned."

"Well, it didn't," she said defensively. "They just… they went through a lot."

"Since when do _you_ care?"

"Since Laurel deserves to be with my brother. You don't understand; they were good together."

"It seems to me they weren't that good considering he cheated on her with his sister and then she dated his best friend... before he wound up dead."

"Look, I wasn't always the biggest fan of Laurel but after that thing with Vertigo and the car crash... she really helped me, you know? She and Ollie, they both bring the best out of each other. She _knows_ him. I think maybe if they get together she can bring him back."

"Bring him back?" Roy was getting lost in this conversation. "Back from where?"

"Back to his old self, before all this happened."

The boy looked at her with a frown. He could see why Thea would want that. They'd talked a few times about how Oliver was all held up in himself since the island, how he didn't seem to trust anyone anymore, including her, but Roy also knew she was chasing an impossible.

He moved in closer to her and took both her hands in his.

"Hey, do you think there's _anything_ that could make you go back to the person you were before your dad died? Before your brother, even before what happened at the Glades?"

Thea stood in silence and he took that as confirmation. She knew there wasn't.

"Maybe it's time you let your brother do his thing, even if it's not the way he used to do it. He's letting you do _your_ thing, right? I mean, he hasn't killed me yet."

"It's not because he doesn't want to," she warned him.

Roy cringed but she smiled, which meant she was getting the point.

"All I'm saying is you should see how this plays out. Maybe you're right, maybe he'll end up with that Laurel chick and it'll all be colors and rainbows. But maybe he prefers his girls to be blonde and nerdy now and you gotta be cool with that too."

Thea looked at him tight-lipped before her eyes went up with defeat.

"Fine, I'll try, but I'm not making any promises. And I still think he should be with Laurel."

"I don't think he cares."

Thea glared and Roy decided it was a good time to make an exit.

"I better pick up those bottles now."

He leaned in to kiss Thea's forehead.

"Yeah, ok, bye bye now," she teased.

Roy jumped over the railing and landed swiftly on the floor below. He was gone before Thea had a chance to scold him for acting like the Starling City version of Spiderman.

As crazy and reckless as he was, Roy was probably right. She owed Oliver the benefit of the doubt and she also owed Felicity a chance… Now maybe even an apology.

* * *

"What happened to you?" Dig asked at the sight of a very pale, very hair-blown Felicity.

"He!" she said pointing at Oliver a little out of breath. "_He_ happened! He and his motorcycle from hell. Oh God, I think I'm gonna be sick. Excuse me while I say hello to my breakfast again."

Felicity made a wobbly bee line out the back since she couldn't go up to the bathroom without letting everyone know they were there and Diggle turned to Oliver with a quizzical brow.

"She's not good with speed either, huh?"

Oliver pressed his lips.

"I may or may not have been going a little _too_ fast."

"Is that so?" he said with a meaningful look.

"You said it was urgent."

"Right, well, here's what officer Lance said." He turned to the computers and Oliver followed suit. "The guy is a serial killer is known as the Dollmaker, real name Barton Mathis. Apparently he likes to kidnap young girls and stuff them full of polymers to turn them into life-size dolls for display. Lance himself put him in jail a few years ago but he got out during the quake and now he seems to be back in business."

"He took someone," Oliver said.

"More like two." Diggle pulled up pictures of two young women, only one of them as a dolled-up corpse. "The second girl might still be alive, Oliver, but according to his M.O. she doesn't have much time."

"Please, don't break my computers."

Felicity had just come back into the basement and they both made way so she could sit in her usual chair.

Oliver pressed on her shoulder with a look of concern.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. False alarm, really," Felicity told him. "So, what are we looking at?" she said scanning over the screens in seconds.

"Our next mission," Oliver responded.

* * *

_There it is! I started off with a different vision for this chapter but then it sort of took on a life of its own so I decided to let it be and cut the rest into another chapter. How do you like it so far? We'll take the Dollmaker plot and twist it a little bit. You'll see, it'll be fun._

_I hope you liked this chapter and I look forward to hearing from you guys. You're the best and remember, we can survive this week without Arrow because Jealous!Oliver! Wiiiiii!_

_haha Love u all! xOxO WordaholiC_


	5. Chapter 5

_Hello Oliciters! Sorry this took so long, I just re-wrote it more times than I can count. Plus I cut it in half again. It just keeps getting longer and longer (seriously, this is HALF of what I have written so expect next chapter very soon). Little heads up before we move on: the timeline here is a bit altered from the show canon. They've already been to Russia and all that (as you know from the "Russian Twister - Naked edition" comment) and Black Canary has been showing up around town BUT they still don't know who it is since they haven't faced the Dollmaker yet._

_Sorry again for the long A/N, it just seemed necessary. Here it is, Chapter 5, part 1 sort of =P meet you at the end!_

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, only my love.**

* * *

**Chapter V - The Party, Part I**

Felicity was having one of those rare moments alone in the basement at Verdant. Oliver and Diggle had signed off the intercoms a while back which meant they were on their way to meet her at the foundry. Meanwhile, the blonde girl was looking intently at her computer screen, anxiously destroying the back of a pen between her teeth.

There was another article, and this time Felicity was surprised the tabloids hadn't displayed everything including her involvement as 1/3 of team Arrow. Everything else was right there, plastered all over the internet in a nice little article: '_The Queen Wannabe'_. This people had a knack for flashy titles.

She could have taken it off but she was smarter than that. Internet articles were like a plague, once published it didn't matter how many times you put them down, someone always had a copy. The only way to really stop them - in theory - would be through a court order but did they really want to attract the law's attention to their affairs? _I don't think so._

Her childhood friends, the awkward college years, it was _all_ there along with a couple pictures to help narrate the experience. Of course they couldn't fail to mention her rapid ascent up the corporate ladder from regular IT girl to Executive Assistant for the CEO and girlfriend to said CEO, as if that were part of her job title._Misogynistic schmucks_!

It was getting bad, like seriously bad, and it wasn't just the press coverage. Mrs. Queen had been crazy welcoming, something she hadn't expected and that added an extra element of deceit to their scheme. Like she said to Oliver, this was his _mom_,not some random stranger on the street. And then of course there was Thea and her comments about Laurel. What the youngest Queen had said hurt her… and it really shouldn't have.

So Oliver was in love with Laurel, what else is new? These were not news to Felicity and even if they were, why should she care? She _was_ the substitute girlfriend; that was actually the whole plan. But she did feel _something_ when Thea pointed out those things to her, just like she felt _something_ when Oliver decided to sleep with Miss 'Long Legs' Rochev.

Even thinking about it now made her kind of mad all over again. _I mean, really, Oliver? Out of all the women, you had to go for the one who couldn't care less about you, the one who wants to destroy your father's company and sell it out in tiny pieces._ She could understand his fixation with Laurel_. Gorgeous Laurel, who you've been in love with since forever and who loves you... but Isabel?! _That was low.

Oliver had said the encounter didn't mean anything and that just made it worst. She remembered thinking: _You're not this person, Oliver. I know you're not! _He deserved better and she'd told him that.

Of course Felicity didn't expect 'better' to mean 'her' by any means. She'd known the moment he walked into the IT department with his all-conquering smile and his little laptop filled with bullet holes that Oliver Queen didn't go for her type. Not because she was less than anyone else but because Oliver liked more of an in-your-face sexy type of girl.

Exhibit A: Laurel; exhibit B: Helena; e_xhibit C: I could do this all day._

Felicity was very much aware of her own worth. She was wicked smart, - _more like borderline genius, thank you very much! -, _she was loyal, and she could rock a nice dress and a pair of heels like any girl, but point was she simply wasn't the girl Oliver wanted, period.

And that was OK! Or at least it _used to be_ before she actually knew what it was to have Oliver treat her as if he wanted her. To have him hold her hand, or kiss her cheek, or serve as her personal body pillow… _a very chiselled, very intoxicating body pillow_…

The fact that she was even thinking about waking up next to him again, and not in the most platonic way, was a clear sign that something was very wrong. This had to stop and it had to stop now! She couldn't just drop out of the whole fake-girlfriend plan but she at least had to do some serious reality check, for her own sake.

Felicity's inner ramblings were cut off by Diggle coming in through the back door. He threw a warning glance at Felicity.

"He's in one of his moods," Diggle said and Felicity sighed getting ready for what was to come.

She locked away the article on her screen and in came Oliver, fuming as he pulled down his hood and threw his bow violently on its case.

"Hey!" Felicity shouted in protest. "Do you mind? I bought that."

Oliver clearly didn't appreciate her humour based on his menacing glare.

"Did they find it?" he said in a hoarse voice.

Felicity pushed her glasses up and swirled around to face her computers.

"Yes, the police got a call a couple minutes ago from someone claiming they found a body. Based on the description I caught on their radio it's the Dollmaker's victim. They're on their way now."

Oliver's fists curled up in a tight ball.

"Can you get anything off the forensics report?" he asked impatiently moving in closer to the back of her chair.

Felicity rolled her eyes and repressed a sigh.

"Maybe if you let the police actually _get _the body and conduct the autopsy then we can talk about hacking into their system."

Oliver looked down at the top of her blonde head.

"Are you purposely trying to tick me off, Felicity?"

"That depends," she said turning around to meet his gaze. "Are you purposely trying to be all growly and angry? Because I'm not the one who stuffed the girl full of plastic, you know?"

Diggle could sense the war about to unfold and decided to step in before it got ugly.

"We all did the best we could. The Dollmaker was one step ahead of us. There's no way we could have predicted that," he said.

Oliver broke eye contact with a very defiant Felicity to look at Diggle.

"Clearly we're not doing enough or the Dollmaker would be in custody by now."

Diggle sighed. This boy was stubborn as a child.

"The museum was a solid lead, Oliver. We just have to keep looking."

Oliver had held Mathis' lawyer at arrow point until he'd told them about the old German museum the Dollmaker could be using as a hideout, Oliver and officer Lance had followed the lead right into a trap and instead of catching the killer they got to listen via phone call as he murdered yet another girl. It was clear the Dollmaker had it in for Lance now. It was not so much about the killing as it was about revenge against the man who put him in prison.

Felicity joined in the conversation, trying to distract Oliver from their failed attempt at catching the Dollmaker.

"Did you get another visit from our black leather, mask wearing friend? You know, the one with the sonic thingy?" she asked.

"No, not this time," said Oliver. "I already put Roy on her trail. He should be reporting back soon."

The blonde female vigilante had been popping up around the glades beating the pulp out of random crooks. Well, not so random since she seemed to be focusing on those who targeted women. But it wasn't her services to the city that caught their attention. Her last appearance had been to save Oliver from being discovered after he foolishly – in Felicity and Dig's opinion - walked into an ambush at the police station just to have a chat with Laurel.

"Look," Diggle said. "It'll be at least a couple hours before the police process the crime scene and forensics takes over the body. In the meantime you have a party to attend."

Oliver clearly had no idea what he was talking about.

"The benefit? For the police department?" Diggle explained.

There, now he knew.

"Queen Consolidated is one of the main donors. You're supposed to be there to hand them the check in person," Felicity added.

Oliver took a deep, accepting breath. The police would definitely take some time to gather the evidence and until then there was nothing he could do. Plus, he probably shouldn't miss this party considering the bad image his company had right now. He couldn't care less about what people thought about him, but with his mother's trial coming up anything that could bring up their family's name with the public was a plus.

"Should I pick you up at your house in say… forty-five minutes?" he said looking at Felicity. "Or should we just meet there?"

"Huh?" the girl said.

"The benefit, you're coming with me, right?"

"No," she said pointedly. "No, no, no. It's just handing a check, you don't need an assistant for that."

"But I need a date," said Oliver as a matter of fact.

"And you're thinking _me_?"

"Who else would I be thinking, Felicity?"

Sometimes Felicity questioned the craziest things. Like that time she wouldn't take the position as his EA despite it being the logical thing to do.

"And it didn't occur to you to mention this until now," Felicity boasted getting up and gathering her things.

This was so like Oliver, assuming everything and everyone would just fall in line with his plan.

The fact that she wasn't looking forward to being Oliver's girl in a room full of people, including Laurel, probably had a lot to do with her reaction too. And Laurel would most definitely be there considering it was a function for the police and not only was she a police officer's daughter but she was also working with the D.A.

Oliver, of course, didn't have a clue what he was supposed to say so he just watched as Felicity stomped her way up the stairs to the club.

"Where are you going?" he called.

"Well _apparently_ I need to get dressed for a party!" she barked back.

And then the door closed with a thud. Oliver stood there dumbfounded staring at the closed door.

"So... do I pick her up or..." he said turning to Diggle for guidance.

The man raised his hand defensively. "Don't look at me, I know her just as much as you do."

Oliver gave one last glance at the door where Felicity had disappeared and decided she'd probably meet him there. He started undoing his buckles and zippers to get out of the vigilante gear.

"Speaking of irritable women, how did it go with Felicity at your house? You never told me what happened that night," said Diggle.

Oliver leaned down to get his boots off.

"It was fine. Thea might have given Felicity a hard time but other than that... My mom seems to like her, a little too much maybe. I'm sorry we overslept that day, I-"

"Wait a second, _we_ overslept?" Diggle interrupted.

_Hmm... perfect, Oliver, just... perfect_. He'd almost made it without Diggle finding out about their little overnight happening. Oliver straightened up getting into his jeans and started looking for a clean shirt to wear.

"My mom insisted we spent the night at the house. I didn't want to risk-"

"So you slept with Felicity," said Dig cutting him off again.

"I didn't _sleep_ with Felicity, Diggle, we just... happened to sleep together." Oliver cleared his throat. Even he realized he wasn't making any sense. Maybe he'd been spending too much time with Felicity lately.

"Nothing happened," the blue-eyed added, as convincingly as he could.

"Right, nothing happened. And that's why you look like you just got caught with your hand in the cookie jar," Dig accused him.

_Well, I guess 'cookie jar' is one way to call where I caught my hand that night_, Oliver thought. Of course, he wasn't about to tell John that.

"Not now, Diggle," he said dismissively and walked out the back to where the car was parked.

"Sure, you keep telling yourself that, Oliver, until there's no _later_ to deal with this thing and I get to say 'I told you so'. Although I probably won't even enjoy it because of the mess you'll make so let there be noted now that I _did_ tell you so."

Oliver pressed his lips into a hard, thin line and got in the back of the car. He'd been living a second life for over a year now. Lying and pretending was second nature to him so Diggle didn't had absolutely no reason to be worried about.

Dating Felicity - _no, scratch that_ - _'_pretending' to date Felicity would be just like any other lie he told, like pretending to be a club owner when he opened Verdant, or pretending to be a concerned CEO when he took over the company.

Of course in that moment Oliver chose to ignore the fact that by doing those things he had actually become a club owner _and_ a concerned CEO, but it wasn't like he was going to magically turn into Felicity's boyfriend just by pretending to be in love with her, right?.

Well perhaps our boy should have considered the reversed alternative.

* * *

The sound of chitchat and champagne glasses clinging together filled the air of the overly decorated salon. Oliver was all class and money in his black tuxedo with silky lapels, a flawless bow tie and diamond incrusted cufflinks.

He'd been talking to some of his father's old friends when he felt the touch of delicate, feminine fingers sliding over his shoulders. He glanced behind him to find one Isabel Rochev wrapped up in a tight blue dress with a slit that went high up her leg. She looked at him with pouty lips, speaking in that velvety voice of hers.

"Flying solo tonight, _partner_?"

"Actually, no," Oliver said. "I'm waiting for my date."

"Right, the _assistant_," Isabel said with a touch of disdain. "What ever happened to 'she's just a friend'?"

The look she gave him was challenging. He knew she'd be asking him about that soon enough and in that moment he knew just what to say to her.

"Well, she _was _just a friend back then," he said innocently. "But I guess I should be thanking _you_ for pointing out how good she looked in short skirts."

Isabel's lips pursed even tighter and Oliver couldn't help but smile at that. He looked over her shoulder and caught sight of Felicity standing a few feet away by the string quartet. She a blonde vision in red and it reminded him of the night she cheated her way into the underground casino with her mad counting skills. Felicity was a woman full of surprises.

"Now, if you'll excuse me..." He didn't give Isabel a second look and walked right pass her heading towards his date.

Once he reached her, Oliver's hand went straight for Felicity's shoulder. The girl turned to see him and only then did he notice the man she was standing with, a tall, squared-jaw fellow with a sly smile. Oliver said hi before he realized _who_ it was and then his smile froze in place.

"Max Fuller," said Oliver with greeted teeth. "What are you doing here?"

The ashy blond man gave Oliver a cocky stare and he tilted his head in an innocent gesture.

"I was just talking to the lovely lady here," he said nodding towards Felicity. "She's quite the talker, very smart."

Oliver posture turned territorial and his arm circled around Felicity's waist. If there was someone he didn't want around Felicity it was Max 'Vengeful' Fuller, the man who was probably looking for the best oportunity to pay him back for what he'd done with his fiancée.

"I see you've met my girlfriend, then," Oliver said.

Felicity tensed under his grip. She didn't move away but Oliver secured her a little tighter just in case.

"Girlfriend?" Max said raising his eyebrows. It was clear he knew exactly who she was but Oliver could play along with his game, see how far he'd take it. "Funny, she didn't mention you at all."

Felicity's head shot up. "Well, it didn't really come up, did it? It's not like I go around saying 'Hi, I'm Felicity Smoak, animal lover, Oliver Queen's girlfriend, Sagittarius'. 'Cause that would just be weird, and a little pretentious, don't you think?"

Oliver had to grin at the disconcertion in Max's face. Apparently not everyone was as used to Felicity's random monologues as he was and that just gave him a strange sense of pride.

"How do _you_ know Oliver?" she asked, curious.

"Well, _Ollie_," Max said, stepping a little too strongly on the nickname. "Why don't you tell her how we know each other, huh?"

"Sure," said Oliver with a smirk. "Felicity, Max and I were... childhood friends."

"That's right, until he slept with my fiancée on our engagement party," Max added as if they were discussing the weather.

Felicity looked between both men not sure where to go from there. Oliver seemed tense but controlled and Max... well, Max just looked like he wanted to punch the smirk right off his ex-friend's face.

"My taste has gotten a lot better since then," Oliver said gliding his hand down from Felicity's waist to her hip.

Felicity had to remind herself to act naturally. _This is normal, this is not awkward at all, this is not real Oliver with his hand on your hip right now, this is fake-boyfriend Oliver, secret-identity Oliver..._

"A few years on a deserted island will do that to you," Oliver added at Max's look of pure hate. "You learn to aim higher, seize the day."

Felicity broke the tension with a slight cough.

"That was... very educational. Now, do you mind giving us a moment?" she said apologizing to Max with a smile. "I really need to talk to Oliver about something."

What she needed was to get out from Oliver's grasp and regain some of her sanity. That hand on her hip was very unsettling, especially when he kept rubbing his thumb against her dress. _Does he even know he's doing that?_

"Of course," Max answered acidly and laid one last murderous glare on Oliver. "I'll see you around, Queen."

"Let's hope you don't, Max" Oliver snapped back.

Felicity waited until the man was gone to let out the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. Felicity pushed herself off from Oliver and he loosened his hold around her, letting her step in front of him.

"Ok, that was awkward. Please tell me you don't more mortal enemies here," she begged.

"And out of all the people in the room, that is who you talk to," complained Oliver.

"How was I supposed to know?! Besides, the _engagement_ party, Oliver, really?"

Oliver felt oddly uncomfortable by Felicity calling him out on his past life like that. This was the second time she'd had to face the fallout of his dealings with women.

"I... have nothing to say for myself," he admitted. "Except that it was a long time ago. I'm a different person now. At least I hope I am."

"I know you are," Felicity told him and her lips curved up on the side.

Their stares lingered a bit longer than they should have and Felicity searched her brain for something to get them back on speaking zone.

"Maybe you're not the best fake-boyfriend material after all." She said in a way that was teasing rather than threatening.

Oliver quirked his head deciding whether or not he should be offended by it. He couldn't find an answer so he settled for a subject change instead.

"Any word on forensics?" Oliver surveyed the room behind her to make sure only they wouldn't be overheard.

"No, not yet," she said mimicking his same tone. "I checked my tablet on the way here. They're finishing up the autopsy so we still can't have access to the results."

"Hmm." Oliver finished his sweep of the room and looked down at Felicity. "Then, should we dance?"

"What?"

"This is a perfectly good party and since we still have to wait the autopsy report I say we kill time." His hand came out to her expectantly and Felicity stared at it trying to think about the implications of actually taking it.

"Besides, Max Fuller is still looking at us. I don't want him to think we're fighting," he added with a somewhat playful smile.

He was right. The man didn't even look away when Felicity met his eyes. She looked back down at the hand in front of her perfectly aware of the milliseconds passing by without her taking it. _One dance, that cannot hurt, right?_ There was no reason why two friends wouldn't be able to share a simply dance without it leaving lingering images that could come back to torment her for the rest of the week like say _sleeping_ with said friend.

She bit her lip and threw all cautions aside. W_hy not?_ She placed her hand in Oliver's with a smile and let him lead her to an open spot among the other few dancing couples. Once they reached the wanted spot he shifted her so they were facing each other, Oliver's hand holding up hers, the other one gentle on the small of her back.

Felicity hand rested naturally on his shoulder and Oliver started dancing, taking Felicity around with him as the violins sung beautifully through the air.

"This is nice," she said looking up at him.

"Does that mean you're not mad at me anymore?" he asked, his eyebrow shooting up a little.

"I was not- Ok, maybe I was, a little. It's just... It's been an off week."

"Something wrong?"

"Not really, just... the press, you know?" Oliver stopped dancing and his eyes searched her with concern. "Oliver, it's nothing serious, really, they've just been getting a little too good at their job."

Felicity tried to be as reassuring as possible. She knew Oliver had a lot on his mind and besides, the dancing _was_ really nice so she didn't want to kill the mood by turning on his protective side. Oliver stood there looking at her for another second before he resumed their dancing again, not letting go of the tension over his forehead.

"Did they start bothering you?" he asked.

Felicity shook her head slightly and moved in closer to his shoulder.

"No, they're just... They're getting crazy about snapping 'the money shot'. Now there's paparazzi everywhere, not just outside Queen Consolidated anymore. I think I even saw one in front of my building the other day. What if they follow us to the foundry? What if they catch you, you know, 'hooding up'?" she whispered.

The music changed and Oliver spun Felicity around bringing her back to his chest once the violins picked up their slow rhythm again. She could feel his jaw line scratching against her cheekbone.

"The money shot?" he asked.

"You and me... kissing? Which is funny because we won't, which is exactly why they want it. No one's been able to get it so now they have anyone with a camera doing whatever it takes to get that one impossible shot."

Oliver kept silent as he swayed with her. She started to get worried maybe she'd said something wrong and she called him name to ask if he was ok.

"There's a photographer there right now," he said softly.

"Where?" Felicity tried looking around but Oliver pressed on her back keeping her glued to him.

"No, no, don't turn around," said Oliver almost in a whisper against her ear.

"Ok," she said wearily. "Mind telling me what you're thinking, Oliver? That tone on your voice is not exactly reassuring."

Again, silence. All she could hear was the music and the sound of the people around them.

"Oliver?" Felicity pressed on.

"I say we get them off our backs," he said finally.

"Off our backs? How? Oliver, you can't be thinking about-"

"I say we kiss."

* * *

_Ok, so that's it for today's chapter, courtesy of evil-cliffhanger me =D Please remember that I love you and Chapter 6 (which is Part II of this one) will be coming out shortly. Thank you for all your comments and please if you catch any typos or mistakes don't hesitate to let me know. See you soon, my lovelies! xoxo, WordaholiC_


	6. Chapter 6

_Here it is! Part II :D Enjoy =P_

**_Disclaimer: Not my characters. Some of the scenes and dialogues have been taken _****ad verbatim****_ from the CW show Arrow. No infringement intended._**

* * *

**Chapter VI - The Party, Part II**

Felicity landed on Oliver's foot and surprise gave way to a chuckle as she held on to her partner for balance.

"Sorry about that, I thought I heard you say 'we kiss'," she said with a roll of her eyes.

"I did," was Oliver calm response.

Felicity stopped chuckling and just pulled back to look at his face.

"But you're kidding, right? Please tell me you're kidding." Oliver's face didn't look at all humorous. "You're _not_ kidding... Oh, God."

"Felicity." Oliver pulled her back into his frame and resumed their slow dancing doing the job for both of them since Felicity was in no mindset to keep up the pace. He did a few turns and brought his mouth to her ear.

"You're right; we can't afford to have them following us around like that."

"So we kiss, that's your solution?!"

"They get the picture, rumour's confirmed, everyone's happy. We walk free."

Felicity hid her face on Oliver's shoulder and let him dance them around while she examined their options. They had to do _something_, that much was obvious, but kiss?! How would they even do that? _Ok, I know how, but... how? _What would that even mean? Where would it leave the two of them?

_Nothing_, _it would mean nothing,_ Felicity thought. Oliver was thinking about this from a strategic point of view, not as some romantic, life-altering gesture. She tried to look on the bright side. _Now I can cross this off my bucket list._

Make out with Oliver, check.

Felicity took one look around the room just to make sure that Laurel wasn't there yet. Kissing Oliver was one thing, doing it while Laurel was there watching was another thing completely. She wasn't. _Good._

The girl took a deep breath getting ready to 'do the thing' as she told Oliver and her mind went into algorithm mode.

"So how do we do this?" It was all variables and decision making now, anything to make it less of a _physical _thing. "We have to make it look natural, not like we_ want_ them to see it so maybe if we-"

The words clung to her throat as Oliver's hand started going up her back, his knuckles grazing every knot on her spine, sending her body into contraction. Even the air stopped trying to exit her lungs and Felicity couldn't think of anything other than the touch oh his hand.

His fingers reached the sensitive skin on the back of her neck and they started creeping into her hair. Felicity melted back into his hand, meeting his steely blue eyes and sliding her fingers down from his shoulder to the front of his jacket.

Their eyes were blue on blue. Oliver could see Felicity was nervous by the way her eyes kept moving about his face but in those eyes there was also determination, just like there always was whenever she offered to put herself in danger for the sake of the team.

There were no words between them and there didn't need to be. The subtle way his eyebrows came together told Felicity that Oliver was waiting for her permission and one swift breath out from her was all he needed to know she meant go.

Felicity closed her eyes, her face twitching in anticipation as Oliver leaned closer. His head tilted a little to avoid Felicity's little button nose and then... their lips met.

Felicity took a sharp breath in and Oliver closed his fingers around her hair. He was all set and ready for a quick job, get in, get out, all nice and neat. What he didn't prepare for was the soft, little moaning sound that escaped Felicity's lips when he kissed her.

It woke up some dark, primal instinct within him and suddenly he couldn't think about the plan anymore. His thoughts were filled with how warm her lips were, how full and cherry-tasting. It was like a sweet syrup and he wanted more. Suddenly he wanted to go for her tongue and his lips started pressing on her more urgently searching for a way in.

Oliver dropped Felicity's hand so he could hold on to her hip. He needed to be in control, hold her in place so she couldn't escape. Not that she wanted to, Felicity was lost in the moment meeting the push of his lips kiss for kiss. Her hand found the crook of his elbow even with her eyes closed. It was a familiar place and she held on to it barely pressing her fingertips against the fabric of his jacket.

Needless to say, they were no longer dancing but standing somewhere close to the centre of the dance floor, one kissing silhouette among the dancing figures. A camera flash went off, then another. Oliver almost groaned when he finally felt it, the cool, wet trail her tongue left when it touched his lips. That same touch, the taste of his lips so vivid, was red alert for Felicity. She gasped and pulled back, looking at Oliver with wide eyes. The blue-eyed man was frowning, he looked... _I don't know. What's that face? Is he freaking out? Cuz I'm freaking out! This was a bad idea!_

Oliver avoided her eyes; he was fixated on Felicity's shoulder. A touch of red on his lips caught her attention and she reached up to wipe it off with her thumb. That brought Oliver's eyes back to hers.

"Sorry, you got a little... There, it's off, see?" she said showing him the smudge of red on the back of her thumb with a nervous smile.

Oliver cleared his throat and he took his hand out of her hair letting it drop to his side. The hand on her hip was also gone and Felicity shrugged her fingers away from his elbow.

"You think they got it?" she asked, whishing her voice would stop doing that shaky thing.

"Mmm-hm," answered Oliver quickly. His brow twitched a little but he shook it off quirking his head and finally putting on his poker face.

"We should get out of the way. Why don't you go wait over there by the food table and I'll go fetch us some drinks to meet you there, ok?" he said.

"Sure, sounds like a plan. I'll see you in a minute," she said tapping her finger on his lapel with a smile, a smile that wore off the moment she turned her back to him.

All the way to the _hors d'oeuvres _table Felicity was kicking herself for getting so carried away. _But it wasn't just me, was it?_ _God, this was a bad idea._

She finally made to the table and the sight of food cleared her mind a bit. She realized she was starving and set off to find the most delicious looking one to start with._Oh, but that kiss, I mean- No! Stop it, no more kissable-Oliver thinking. Focus, food, now!_

Felicity had just managed to place a particularly unstable cheese construction in her mouth when she heard a deep male voice behind her.

"Enjoying yourself, Miss Smoak?"

The girl turned almost knocking the glass of champagne the man was holding and coughing back the cheese so she wouldn't choke to death.

"Officer Lance!" Felicity took her fingertips to the corners of her mouth to do a quick check for loose cheese crumbs.

"So, Oliver Queen," he said raising his eyebrow. "I didn't know you two had that kind of... relationship."

Lance looked slightly disapproving and Felicity checked around him to see if Oliver was already on his way with the drinks.

Nope, negative.

She focused on the man before her and tried to be convincing.

"We, uh, we haven't really _told_ many people yet. It's very recent so..."

The girl smiled nervously hoping she was doing a better job now than during her interrogation at the police department when Officer Lance brought her in for questioning regarding the Arrow cases.

"I take it he doesn't know about your involvement with our hooded friend," Lance said.

"Nou, no, no, no," Felicity emphasized, shaking her head in small, repetitive motions. "And... please don't tell him," she begged. "I really don't think he'll like it considering the Arrow did attack his mom once."

"Right, well, lies are no way to start a relationship, Miss Smoak, but don't worry, your secret's safe with me. Although, I gotta say, smart girl like you? One would think you'd know better than to go for Oliver Queen."

Felicity felt a pang in her chest. There was something she couldn't quite handle about people misjudging Oliver, whether as himself or as the Arrow.

"Don't get me wrong," Lance explained. "The kid can be good sometimes, when he sets his mind to it, but things just tend to get _broken_ around him, especially girls."

Now Felicity knew he was talking from painful experience. Both daughters 'lost' to Oliver in one way or another. She just wished there was a way to show him just how much Oliver cared for both of them.

The officer looked at her with fatherly concern.

"Be careful, Miss Smoak?" he requested.

That took her a little off guard. Felicity's lips curved up, this time genuinely.

"I will," she said softly.

Quentin seemed satisfied with her answer but Felicity felt there was more to say.

"I think... I think that's one thing they have in common, Oliver and 'the Arrow'," she mouthed. Quentin frowned not being able to think of anything those two had in common other than a preference for night time activities.

"There's a lot more heart to both of them than they let on," Felicity finished.

The man scoffed. He was about to say something when his phone started ringing calling his attention to his pocket.

"Excuse me," he said as he took the phone out. "That's my daughter, she must be outside. Take care of yourself, Miss Smoak, and say hello to our mutual friend. And by friend I mean the vigilante. Queen can do with just a nod."

Felicity couldn't help but smile at that. She bit her lip and gave him a small nod.

"I'll make sure they both get the message."

Quentin gave her a smirk before heading towards the entrance to take Laurel's call.

"What did Officer Lance want?"

Oliver was behind her holding two glasses of wine and a stern look.

"Good, wine, give me," she said taking the glass from him. Felicity welcomed the cool beverage, especially the calming effect it had going down her throat. "He says hi, to Arrow you, not _you _you. To _you_ you he sends more of a 'meh'."

He managed to suppress the smile, he had that face where his jaw clenched so tight it looked like his lips were holding back a fit of laughter.

"Did he say anything about the case?"

"No," Felicity answered, realizing that officer had in fact neglected to mention the Dollmaker at all. "He didn't say anything. Maybe he was too busy warning me against you."

"Well, he's a good man," Oliver said for all response. He knew what Laurel's father thought of him and he couldn't do anything but agree with his assessment.

Felicity, on the other hand, saw a whole lot more.

"So are you," she muttered.

Oliver often wished he could see himself through Felicity's eyes. She seemed so sure that there was something worth defending about him. Of course, she didn't know the whole story; she didn't know all that lay buried deep within him, what the island did to him, what he'd done since the island.

And she couldn't know because he needed her, he needed Felicity as part of team Arrow. Right now he couldn't risk losing her over the truth.

Felicity set her empty glass down on the appetizers table and one of the tiny portions caught her eye.

"Hey, my mom used to make these!"

She took the little eggplant slice topped with tomato squares and cream cheese and put in her mouth closing her eyes as Oliver watched her intently. It was like she was no longer there but in some faraway place enjoying. He wondered if he was ever that innocent. When she opened her eyes again they were smiling.

"Every time we had someone over at the house my mom would disappear into the kitchen and come back with a tray full of these little things. I used to hate them – I'm not an eggplant person - but now... whenever I'm alone at the apartment, feeling particularly homesick, I try to make them. They're nothing like the ones my mom makes of course, but I don't know, I guess it makes me feel a little better."

She took another one and brought it up to Oliver's face.

"Here, try it."

Oliver's first impulse was to draw back but one look at Felicity's face and he discarded the idea. She was sharing with him and not just the tumbling tower of food between her fingers but a part of herself, a part of her story.

He reached for her wrist to keep it steady and closed his lips around the little eatable art piece. Felicity tried to pull her fingers back before his lips touched them but one of them was too slow and he kissed it before she could pull it away.

Blood rushed to her ears, her cheeks, her everywhere. She hid the kissed finger inside her hand, almost as if protecting the kiss from blowing away. Oliver didn't seem to notice, he was humming in appreciation of the dish and Felicity relaxed a little, smiling along with him. They enjoyed their moment of camaraderie until Lance returned, pale as a ghost, and grabbed Felicity's elbow to pull her aside.

The musical sound of Oliver's laughter stopped abruptly to be replaced by his throat clearing.

"Is everything ok?" he asked Lance.

"No," the man stuttered. "He... he has Laurel, the Dollmaker took Laurel."

The look he gave Felicity spoke louder than his trembling words. Both she and Lance caught Oliver's jaw clenching but Quentin took it as a mere sign of distress. He'd forgotten for a moment that Oliver didn't know about Felicity's involvement with the Arrow so he tried to mend his sudden inopportune outburst, shrugging it off to his own instability.

"I'm sorry, I... I don't know why I'm telling you this," he stammered, letting go of Felicity and running a shaky hand across his face. "I better go find the captain. I..." He was struggling for words, struggling to find the calm within himself long enough to find Laurel. "I need help."

His eyes fell back on Felicity as he said that and she gave him the nod he was waiting for. Quentin Lance left to find the captain and Felicity turned to Oliver who was already in action mode.

"We need to get to the foundry, now," Oliver commanded.

He didn't need to wait for Felicity's response and she didn't need to give it. She was already taking out her phone to text Diggle and following after Oliver as he made his way through the room towards the nearest exit.

A hand caught his arm just as they reached the door and Oliver had to use all his sense not to tackle the intruding Isabel right to the ground. He had to settle for a very low groan and a dangerously tense jaw.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked.

"Out," hissed Oliver.

"You're not done. We have to hand that check... together," the woman protested.

Oliver was losing his patience and Felicity could see it in the way his fist kept closing on itself. She regretted her solution the moment it came to her head but it had to be done anyway.

"Sorry, we can't wait anymore," Felicity said clinging to Oliver's arm. "He and I need to go like _now_. Oliver?" she sang.

Felicity made sure there was just the right amount of sexual innuendo in her voice. Just in case she started tugging at his jacket with needy eyes. _God, this is embarrassing. _She prayed it would work so they could get out of there and sure enough Isabel let go of Oliver looking at the pair of them with a mix of jealousy and repulsion.

"Unbelievable," she chastised, and Felicity didn't give her time to put in another word pulling Oliver out of the hall and into the car.

Diggle tossed him his Arrow gear on the back of the car while Felicity got her tablet out, fingers flying across the screen. Oliver started undoing his cufflinks and the bow tie around his neck.

"Felicity I need you to check back on those forensic results-"

"Already on it." The girl did a couple more taps before she found what she was looking for. "They thought they could hide them from me but apparently they don't know just how good I am."

"Felicity..."

Oliver was a ticking time bomb and Felicity focused her attention on keeping her comments short and useful.

"I'm cross-referencing the results from this autopsy to the ones they ran for the other victims, toxicology, blood type... Wait! There's a match... One of the chemical ingredients found on the victim, _ethyl paraben_ and _sodium laureth sulphate_," she read. "- That's a mouthful - It was on the other victims as well."

"And?" Oliver had kicked his shoes off and was working off his pants.

"_And _it's the formula of a very particular skin cream, see? Oh, gawd-"

Felicity had turned to show Oliver the image of Mermaiden skin cream on her tablet but she nearly dropped it at the sight of a very shirtless, very _pantless _Oliver sitting right next to her.

"Was this really necessary?" she said, hovering her hand over Oliver's half naked presence.

Diggle glanced through the rear-view mirror and his brows shifted disapprovingly. After this particular crisis was over he needed to have a serious talk with Oliver about Felicity, one that didn't end with 'Not now, Diggle'.

Oliver ignored Felicity's cry of purity and he slipped into the green leather pants.

"Any idea how that can help us find Laurel?" he asked.

"No," she admitted. "But at least it's something. Just... give me a minute, I'll keep looking."

"We may not _have _a minute," Oliver muttered. "I'm calling Lance."

It took the officer half a ring to answer the phone. Turns out Mathis, aka The Dollmaker, had been in contact with him. He was the one who called Lance at the party from Laurel's phone. Mathis said he had Laurel and he was going to make her part of his master piece, a special edition five-doll collection, with her as the centre piece. 'The daughter of the captor became the captive' is what he said.

"Five dolls... that means he needs four other girls," Oliver said. "Felicity-"

"There have been... three missing person reports in the last 24 hours that match the sort of victims he takes, young, pretty, _female_. It'd be too much of a coincidence in a city this small if someone else took them," Felicity reported.

The makings of a plan started forming in her head as she stared at the screen.

"Three... that means he's still missing one girl. He could be waiting until he has all five to-" _start killing them_ is what she meant to say, but this wasn't a regular mission. One of those girls was Laurel and Felicity knew she couldn't imply _death_ and _Laurel _in the same sentence with Oliver there.

"What if we _give_ him the girl?" Felicity suggested.

"And how do you propose we do that?" Diggle chimed in. "We still don't know how he picks them."

"The skin cream," Felicity answered. "Looks like it's a little more than _something_ after all. I looked into it while you were on the phone," she said to Oliver. "The formula is for 'Mermaiden', a highly exclusive, very expensive mother pearl skin cream marketed for women with extremely delicate complexions. Only a handful of stores in the city carry it."

"The Dollmaker picks his victims for their skin," stated Oliver.

"He must be staking out the stores waiting for the girls to show up and then snatch them," said Diggle.

"Exactly, which means we can lure him out. Think about it, he needs another girl, _I'm_ a girl..."

"Felicity, no," snapped Oliver. "It's too dangerous."

"More dangerous than anything I've already done so far? I don't think so." She looked at both Oliver and Diggle through the mirror to let them know she wasn't backing down. "It's my life, it's my choice."

Oliver couldn't stop the sudden flashback to Slade saying those same exact words to him about Shado... right before she almost got blown up by Dr. Ivo. He didn't think there was much use trying to persuade her not to do this as much as there ever was with Shado. Besides, Laurel was in danger so he _needed_ Felicity's help.

"Let's get you changed then," Oliver said, instructing Diggle to stop by her house.

* * *

Felicity was coming out of the last shop with a tiny, overpriced jar of Mermeiden in her bag. Oliver, Diggle and officer Lance were all monitoring her every move as she got onto the sidewalk and made a turn at the intersection.

"Ok, last one," she said over the intercom. "I'm almost starting to regret this plan."

"I got you covered," said Oliver from one of the rooftops that oversaw her street. His voice was masked by the distorting device to keep his identity hidden from Officer Lance.

"I can't thank you enough for doing this, both of you," Lance trembled over the line. "My daughter must be very-"

Oliver interrupted, not wanting to hear about what could happen to Laurel if he didn't get to her in time.

"We'll find her," he assured him.

Quentin nodded more to himself than anything else. He picked up the pace so he wouldn't lose Felicity who was walking in rapid little steps about half a block ahead.

"I'm sorry you had to put your girl in the line like this," the man said to Oliver.

Felicity could hear them both over the intercom but she was too busy looking frantically around to really follow their conversation.

"She volunteered," Oliver said, ignoring the fact that Quentin referred to her as 'his girl' even though he knew Felicity was dating his billionaire persona.

"Well, she must really believe in you," the officer answered. "I just hope we can get this over with soon and return her to Queen in one piece."

Oliver groaned. He was thankful for the interruption when Felicity's shaky, high-pitch voice broke through the line calling their attention.

"Someone's coming," she said.

Oliver, Lance and Diggle all perked in alert searching the area for the person she was referring to. There was a tall man in a hat striding parallel to her. Felicity's voice took over the line again.

"Ok, I'm going to admit to being seriously wigged out right now."

Oliver had the privileged standing point and he watched as the man walked right into a low story building, probably a restaurant.

"False alarm," Felicity confirmed. "But next time I offer to be bait for a serial killer, _please_ turn me down."

Oliver ran a quick sweep of the street she'd just abandon when the sound of her screams brought his eyes back to the place he'd last seen her.

Diggle shot out of the car where he'd been stationed and Lance's pace turned into a trot. The officer turned the corner just in time to catch Mathis dragging Felicity kicking and screaming into the alley.

He called in for police backup as he ran after the Dollmaker's fleeting figure. Oliver made his way through the rooftops shooting an arrow at the Dollmaker's back, causing him to drop Felicity.

The girl tumbled onto the floor and fell head first onto a concrete base. Mathis got up, tossing the arrow aside, and made a run for it leaving a semi-conscious Felicity lying on the floor. Oliver dropped from the ceiling and went straight to her cursing as the Dollmaker got away.

"Are you alright?" he asked, holding Felicity's elbow to get her arm away from her face. She looked disoriented but awake and Oliver's hand went down to check for broken ribs or any sign of mayor injury.

"Don't move," he ordered and Felicity gently closed her fingers around his leathered arm trying to hold on to reality and not the throbbing pain in her head. Diggle finally got to them and Oliver handed over custody of Felicity to him while he went after Mathis.

"She hit her head," he said and took off following the Dollmaker.

Mathis had a fair advantage on the vigilante but Quentin was right on his tail. The officer ran through the dangling plastic curtains across the darkened warehouse, gun in hand. Once he came out from behind the last plastic sheet Mathis was nowhere to be found.

Quentin looked around panting and pointing his gun to the space in front of him but he failed to see the wooden bar Mathis swung at him until it was too late and it struck him right in the face. The gun fell free to the floor and Mathis promptly picked it up trading the bar for the officer's gun and kneeled before him with a smug smile.

"I thought there'd be more ceremony to this moment," the killer said. "I really wanted you to see what I had planned for your daughter, her beauty preserved for posterity. I'm a little disappointed to be honest."

"Don't be."

The man turned at the female voice coming from behind him. The lean, black figure of the masked, blonde woman greeted him with a look of concentration. The air whistled as her shaft came in contact with Mathis's legs forcing him to the ground. She got ready for her next strike, a deadly one, hovering over the man's neck when Oliver burst in shouting at her to stop.

"We need him alive," he growled.

"No we don't," she countered, looking back down at her pray. It was too late, the second she wasted looking up at Oliver was enough for Mathis to escape. He got lost in the depths of the warehouse and the blonde vigilante cursed at the Arrow for letting him get away.

"He has hostages," he said hoarsely, his voice altered by the device in his hand.

"I already have her," she answered impatiently. Oliver thought her voice came from somewhere in his memory. "Laurel, he brought her with him and I took her while you and your friends played your little charade."

There was a look of panic in the woman's face as Quentin started to regain consciousness on the floor. She started retreating into the shadows getting ready to leave.

"I left her outside," she said to Oliver. "She's a little shaken up but she's ok."

Oliver could see she was about to flee and he tried to stop her.

"Who are you?" he said gruffly.

She gave him a long, hard look.

"When you know you'll never be the same," she warned him softly. The woman took a jump backwards and disappeared before he could say another word.

Officer Lance was coming back to himself, holding a hand to his head and trying to sit up without much success.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Your daughter, she's outside," Oliver said minding to keep his back to him. "Mathis got away."

The news of Laurel being safe brought Lance back to his feet and Oliver finally managed to breathe easy. That is until Diggle spoke over the intercom.

"Oliver, you need to get here."

The hooded man brought a hand to his ear to try and block out the sound of sirens coming from outside.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"The Dollmaker... he took Felicity."

* * *

_Well, I hope you're happy Oliver, you got your Laurel back but now Felicity is in danger. Way to go, champ! Now we have to wait until next chapter to find out how you're gonna fix this one ;) Thank you all for reading and reviewing the story and I hope this was recompense enough for the cliffhanger in Chapter 5. Until next time my lovelies and don't forget to comment or follow the story if you haven't already. xOxO WordaholiC [report any typos and blunders, it'd be highly appreciated]_


	7. Chapter 7

_Hi! How are the best readers in the entire world? Did you know you made this story top on the list of followers? Over 830! How crazy is that?! I can't thank you enough and I really hope I can continue to entertain you with the story. This is chapter 7, the longest and angstiest so far. Angst is not my forte (as in I've never written it before) so I'm really looking forward to see what you guys think._

_Enough about me, now it's time for you. Here's the chapter, enjoy!_

**_Disclaimer: The characters and back story doesn't belong to me. Some lines of dialogue and situations have been taken ad verbatim from the CW show Arrow._**

* * *

**Chapter VII - The Dollmaker**

Diggle tried calling his name again after the seconds passed and Oliver didn't answer. The thing is Oliver couldn't process what Diggle was saying.

He took Felicity. The Dollmaker _took_ Felicity. He took _Felicity!_

How could that even happen? He'd just seen Felicity. He'd _saved_ Felicity. She was hurt but she was there. She couldn't be gone.

Oliver's name rang in his ear again urgently and his eyelids came down to shut the world out long enough for him to gather his wits.

"Oliver!"

A small rational part of him registered the fact this was the fourth time Diggle called him by his _name_. Officer Lance had an intercom piece too so any minute now he would be jumping over Oliver, yelling at his face and demanding explanations. _Fine, let it come. Felicity is priority now._

But the man was not coming at Oliver. In fact he was awfully quiet. Oliver glanced behind him and Officer Lance wasn't there. The man had gone outside the warehouse to retrieve Laurel and the only thing left, broken and discarded on the floor, was his intercom piece. Oliver picked it up closing his hand around it. It must have fallen off his ear when the Dollmaker hit Lance on the face.

"I'm on my way," he told Diggle and stood up to retrace his steps back to the place he'd last seen Felicity. Diggle had to be mistaken. Felicity had to be there, rubbing her head and going on about how ludicrous this whole plan was. _'I want a raise, Oliver,' _she'd say, _'clearly I don't get paid nearly enough for what I do.'_

All hope was shattered when he reached Diggle and Felicity was _not_ there. Diggle was the one pressing his hand to stop the bleeding on the back of his head.

"What happened?" he barked.

"He took her, Oliver. I thought you and Lance were taking care of him and he just came up behind me and knocked me out. Next thing I know Felicity was gone. I tried going after them but there were tires screeching in the alley and no trace of them."

"We need to track down her phone," dictated Oliver.

"_If_ she has it on her but listen, Oliver, without Felicity we're gonna need the police for that. I can call Lyla, ask her to run it down."

"Fine, you do that."

Diggle took off to make the call and Oliver looked down to where Felicity's head had struck the concrete base on her way down. There were traces of blood smudged on the surface. She was bleeding. She was bleeding and now she was gone.

The leather groaned in protest around his knuckles when he gripped his bow so furiously it almost broke. Oliver heard steps coming up behind him and in one quick motion he had an arrow pointed at the heart of Officer Quentin Lance.

"Woah, easy there, it's me," the officer said holding his palms up.

Oliver brought the bow down and hid his face to the side.

"I can't thank you enough for what you did for my daugther," Lance said. "She's fine and I couldn't have done it without you and Miss Smoak. Where _is_ Miss Smoak?" he asked, noticing there was something missing in the picture. "I came back to see if she was ok."

Oliver came up with two different ways he could snap the Dollmaker's neck while the officer spoke.

"Mathis took her," he muttered.

"What? What do you mean he took her? How could he even..."

_It happened because of me_, Oliver's mind answered. He didn't have time to dwell on his guilt now, not while Felicity was in danger.

"She's hurt," he said. "We need to track her."

"Of course, but right now you need to get out of here. This place will be crawling with cops any second now. I need to call Queen," said Lance. The man ran a hand over his face. "That kid, it's just one thing after another. How much bad luck can a person get in his life?"

Oliver knew he deserved everything that was coming to him and now he'd brought Felicity into this and pinned his 'bad luck' on her.

"Use her phone number to track her down. Let me know when you have a location," Oliver ordered.

"Yes, yes, now go!"

Oliver took a cable arrow to a beam on the ceiling and shot himself up just as the police irrupted in the scene.

"Was that the vigilante?" One of the men in uniform ran up to Lance pointing his gun to where Oliver had made his exit.

"Yes, but that's not important. Right now we have another hostage situation, name's Felicity Smoak. The Dollmaker took her as he fled the scene. We need to do a cell phone trace **now** and get me Oliver Queen on the line." Lance's eyes fell on the blood spatter on the concrete base. "I have to tell him his girlfriend's missing."

* * *

"Oliver, you need to calm down!"

Diggle pushed Oliver back for the third time trying to keep him from running off to chase a man they didn't even know where to find. They were standing outside the back entrance at Verdant and Oliver was still wearing his Arrow outfit. His hood was down, the war paint still on and his face was turning more and more red with rage by the minute.

"Do you just expect me to just stand here and do nothing? There is psychopath out there and he has Felicity!"

Diggle took a deep breath and started explaining again why there was no point in going after him now.

"We have Lyla _and_ the police tracking her phone down, Oliver. Felicity is a smart girl, a lot smarter than we both give her credit for. I'm sure she found a way to hold on to it. She knows we can track her. Right now what you need to do is go home and act like the Oliver Queen whose girlfriend got taken by a kidnapper."

Oliver had already received a call from Officer Lance telling him the news about Felicity. He had to use all his willpower to act normal, although he couldn't resist hanging up before the officer had a chance to finish. Diggle had to call him back asking him to excuse his boss' behaviour.

'Mr. Queen is in shock right now and he'll be heading home shortly to wait for news,' Dig told Lance, which led to the present discussion of Oliver refusing to go stand around in his house doing nothing, acting like a concerned boyfriend, while Felicity could be bleeding out to death somewhere or getting turned into a life-sized doll.

"I'm going out there," Oliver said stubbornly but Diggle cut his way again.

"Out there _where_, Oliver? We don't know where he is!"

"Perhaps the two of you could use some help."

The feminine voice came up from above their heads and they both looked up trying to find the source of it. The lean black figure jumped off into the alley, landing gracefully like a cat in front of the two men. Oliver instinctively brought his head down trying to conceal it from her and Diggle stepped in front of him as cover.

"There's no need for that," she said. "I know perfectly well who you are, _Ollie._"

They both tensed up at the mention of Oliver's name. Diggle reached for his gun to point it straight at the woman but Oliver tapped his shoulder making him stand down as he stepped out from behind him to examine her more closely.

"Who are you?" he asked again.

The woman stared at him almost nostalgically and her voice was soft again, like a whisper from back in time.

"I'm a ghost," she said. She pulled her mask back along with the luscious wig of blonde hair to reveal a set of shorter light waves and the face of Sara Lance.

"S… Sara," Oliver muttered.

The girl stood there, her eyes compassionate, and Oliver reached out to feel her face, to make sure it wasn't just a trick of his imagination. His fingers met the cool skin and Oliver closed his eyes in pain. What was happening? This had to be a dream, everything from Felicity being taken to Sara being here. _It can't be._

"I told you it would change you, Ollie."

"How… how are you here?"

"No time for that, you need to get your girl back and this time I can help you."

_Felicity_. Oliver's mind was brought back to reality and Diggle chimed in taking advantage of the momentary silence.

"Does anyone care to tell me what the hell is going on here?" he said.

Oliver explained how Sara, Laurel's sister, had made it to salvation after the Gambit went down. He thought he'd seen her die after that but apparently his eyes were not the best of witnesses because there she was, in the flesh right in front of him, wearing a leather suit and offering to help them out.

"How did you find me?" Oliver asked.

Sarah scoffed.

"A mysterious vigilante in Starling City shooting arrows around? It only took one look at that green hood to know it was you."

"And you came back for me," he finished for her.

"I came here for my family, Ollie. They were in danger, I needed to make sure they'll be okay. Now I'm here because you need me."

Oliver frowned.

"This guy is right," she said gesturing towards Diggle. "You can't go after the kidnapper without blowing your cover."

Oliver's anger boiled up again now that the initial shock of seeing Sara was wearing off.

"This is _not_ about my cover, this is about-"

"Yes, the girl, I know. You're being impulsive, Ollie. We still need a location to bring him down and right now you not showing up at your house would only make you a suspect, distract the police from actually finding her. If they find out who you really are they'll know she was involved and we'd only be bringing her back so they can throw her in jail. And they won't give you a cell to share."

The angry man simmered down at the thought of his actions hurting Felicity again. Still he couldn't just wait around and let everyone else protect the person _he_ had chose to endanger. Sara recognized the look of frustration in his eyes so she told him she could get a head start on locating the Dollmaker through some of her contacts on the underground glades.

"I've got a few eyes around the city, ones that work better than that kid you sent after me," she said.

Oliver's lips tightened at the mention of Roy. That stupid kid, he'd told him not to engage with her. Of course, he didn't listen. _Why would he listen? He never listens_.

"Go home, Ollie. Stay focused and do your part. I'll let you know when I find her."

Oliver didn't seem very inclined to follow her plan but Sara reached for his hand, putting a little bit of pressure on it.

"I can see she means a lot to you and I still owe you because of what happened to Shado. If you hadn't stepped in…" She let the words trail off and looked at her friend right in the eye. "I'll get her back for you, Oliver, you need to trust me."

Sara waited for Oliver to show some sign of agreement before she let him go. She told Diggle how to contact her in case anything came up.

"Make sure he does what he's told," she whispered to the army man.

"Easier said than done," Diggle said.

Sara smirked and looked back at Oliver one more time before jumping her way out of the alley and into the night. Diggle reached for the back seat door and waved at Oliver.

"Come on, you can change in the car. We need to get you home now."

Oliver wished he could pause for a second and process all this but more than anything he wished he knew where Felicity's captor was so he could make him pay in a wide arrange of imaginative ways.

* * *

Felicity woke up to the overwhelming feeling of nausea. She fought the awful sensation back and tried to focus her senses. As soon as she opened her eyes the throbbing pain on the side of her head made her wish she hadn't. _What the… ow! No wonder I want to vomit, isn't that one of the signs of a concussion? Maybe I shouldn't be sleeping either._

Then she realized there might be another reason why she was feeling so nauseous. They were moving, fast, she and the Dollmaker. Felicity felt the urge to scream but her fast-working intellect told her it was probably not the best idea. Besides, her mouth was all covered in duct tape so what was the point?

She stretched her neck as far as she could to take a look towards the front seat. The bearded man was fully concentrated on driving as the city lights flew by, shinning against the dark night sky.

Felicity was lying on her side in the back of a softly padded van. It looked like the inside of a mental institution and the rope around her wrists and ankles was also lined with soft fabric, like one those kinky handcuffs with pink feathery things.

_Great, I got the only psychopath who has no problem with killing me but can't bear the thought of my skin getting damaged. Well, I don't care how pretty my corpse will be, I'm getting out of here!_

Her thoughts immediately went to Oliver. _And Diggle._ To both.

She needed to work with them, help them find her. Felicity looked around. There was nothing in the back of the van but more of that lined rope torn into pieces, like it'd been used to tie someone else at some point. The Dollmaker had obviously tossed her purse out but the little jar of Mermaiden was still there, peeking out of its bag, mocking her. Felicity reached as quietly as she could into her pocket, struggling to move her hands despite the tight bindings. She held back a sigh of relief when her fingers closed around the cool edge of her phone.

Felicity brought the phone out carefully, trying not to draw attention to the fact that she was now awake. She thought about calling Oliver but it was just too risky. The sound of the phone ringing might be enough to tip her kidnapper. Plus, knowing Oliver he would be furious by now meaning he'd answer the call by shouting _Felicity!_ in that strong, commanding voice of him.

So, no phone call then. What she needed was to make sure her phone remained unharmed and in place until they got to whatever it is they were going. That way Oliver and the police could trace it back to her and get her out of this mess.

Her mind was racing. The question now was where to hide it. Felicity knew the Dollmaker liked to dress up his victims so if she left the phone in her pocket chances were he would find it when he tried to get her into the doll outfit. She did her best not to think about that man getting her clothes off or the fact that she'd most likely be dead by the time it got to that.

Next logical solution was hiding it somewhere in the car then. The Dollmaker would most likely park the van at least close to where they were going and judging by the effort he'd put into it patting every possible surface in the car, it didn't look like he planned on ditching this vehicle any time soon.

The blonde was checking her surroundings looking for a good place to hide it but she was brutally interrupted when the car came to a halt. Felicity managed to fake unconsciousness just as the Dollmaker glanced back. He killed the engine and got out of the car letting Felicity know she had seconds to hide the phone before the Dollmaker came to pull her out.

Looking around in panic, she settled for the gap beneath the front seats. Felicity threw the phone so it would slide across the gap but it only made it half way through. She reached up, ignoring the nagging pain in her head, and tried to push it further into the shadows with the tip of her fingers. The phone reached a spot where she thought it'd be safely hidden just as the Dollmaker opened the back door and dragged her out by her ankles.

Felicity squirmed and screamed muffled cries against the duct tape making the Dollmaker grin.

"Good, you're awake! I'll be easier for you to swallow this way, dear."

The side of her head left a bloody trail across the white padding of the van and she winced as the pain intensified. The man frowned when he noticed her injury.

"Well, we're gonna have to fix that, my darling, before we immortalize your face. Can't have ourselves a broken doll now, can we? It diminishes the value of the entire collection. No need to panic now. You'll be as beautiful forever as you are right now."

He held Felicity strongly, her back to his chest, and forced her to walk into what looked like an abandoned chemical plant.

"It'll all be over soon," he said in a soothing voice as he secured Felicity to a metallic grid to keep her upright. She'd been trying to hold on to her rational thinking but now that she'd done all she could to ensure her rescue, Felicity started to shiver in fear. Each time the Dollmaker laid a finger on her, Felicity trembled like a leaf.

"Shh, it's ok. Now let me see that cut."

Mathis turned Felicity's head to the side to shine light over her head injury.

"I'm so sorry this happened to you, my dear," he said as he patched her up, cleaning the wound with delicate strokes. "A doll so pretty doesn't deserve to have her skin severed like that. Detective Lance just doesn't get it. What I'm doing is for the greater good. Humanity needs to have its beauty preserved; life is just too mediocre, too…forgettable to deserve true beauty."

The man's voice was as calmed as it was terrifying. Felicity's heart was going on double tempo now and every second that passed was a second closer to the end.

"That's why he needs to be broken, see?" he continued, "so he can stop interfering with my work. I wanted to give good Detective Lance something he couldn't recover from so I took his last remaining daughter. Too bad I couldn't keep her but that doesn't matter now because she wasn't the last one, was she? _You_ risked your life for his sake, _you_ are the one I'm taking away. Or was it because of the hooded guy that you were there? Either way, I got you now and maybe it'll stop them both in one move. Oh, you'll make a perfect doll, my dear. Perfect, just like the others."

Felicity followed his gaze to a spot on her right and was overflown by sobs at the sight of the three perfectly lined up girls in their pretty doll outfits. They all had a look of terror and death etched permanently on their lifeless faces. He'd killed them all and next it would be her.

She thought about what she'd done with her life, what it had become. No more business reports by day, no more crime fighting by night, no more computers or technology, no more Hanukkah with the cousins at grandma's house.

No more Oliver.

Felicity would never see his tormented blue eyes again or hear his voice say 'Felicity!' in every possible way. She was only midly surprised to discover that it would be Oliver to invade her thoughts in what could be her last hurrah. And she wasn't even thinking of him because he could save her, she was thinking of him because she would miss him.

The girl closed her eyes and let the tears make trails down her cheeks. She wished with all her might this wouldn't be her last day, she wish she'd get another chance to keep taking care of her broken island man.

* * *

"Oliver!" Moira ran to wrap her son in a hug, cuddling his head as only a mother would. He welcomed the hug and felt strangely unsettled to have his mom comfort him over something that was completely his fault.

"It's all over the news, I… I thought you were with her," she said guiding her son to the couch and sitting beside him, keeping a hold on his hand.

Oliver started to deliver his prefabricated story with an emptiness that could very easily pass as shock.

"We had to leave early. She, uh… I dropped her off at her house and then Diggle and I went to get some drinks. I... don't know how she…"

Oliver trailed off. This was ridiculous, pointless, this wouldn't bring her back.

"I know, sweetie, I know," Moira said reassuringly.

There was a police detective in the room taking notes as Oliver related his story.

"They said that man, the Dollmaker, he had Laurel before he took Felicity," said Moira.

Oliver remembered he was supposed to look surprised.

"Laurel's ok now," Moira explained. "The police found her outside that place… What was she even doing there, Oliver? This city is not safe. Why would Felicity go out alone so late?"

Oliver added another brick to his wall of guilt. It was all on him, this no one's fault but his own. Felicity wasn't alone, she was with him and he'd let her down. The detective stopped taking notes for a moment and pointed the back of his pen at Oliver.

"Can you think of any reason why Mathis might have a personal vendetta against you, Mr. Queen?"

"What are you talking about? I'd never even heard of him until today," he said, growing increasingly annoyed at the level of inaction around him.

"Well, I understand you used to have a personal relationship with Miss Lance, correct? And now that he's taken Miss Smoak too- again, forgive me if I'm wrong but -isn't she currently involved with you _aside_ from being your assistant at Queen Consolidated?"

_Involved with me... Of course she's involved with me. That's the only reason she's in this mess right now._

Felicity's words to him echoed loudly in his head. _'It's my life, it's my choice.' _Why is it that choosing him always let to disaster? Felicity needed to come back. How he would live with himself if she didn't was a future too bleak to imagine.

"Yes," he answered finally.

"Then you see why we would assume this kind of coincidence might not be a coincidence after all," the man said.

Oliver's hand tensed under his mother's and Moira stood up, stepping between Oliver and the inquisitive detective like a lioness protecting her cub.

"Look, I don't know what good is coming out of you interrogating my son, Detective, when what you _should_ be doing is looking for this man and bringing the girl back to us. Felicity is a friend to this family, she's important to Oliver and she's important to us so please if you don't have any actual news to tell us I suggest you leave us alone. And you can stop harassing my son now, I'm calling my lawyer."

The detective sneered at the Queen woman and he told Oliver they'd be in touch and that he shouldn't leave the premises.

"The department is tracking her phone down as we speak so it shouldn't be long now. A couple of our guys are staying here with you in case Miss Smoak tries to contact you."

Oliver gave him an absent nod and Moira thanked the detective leading him out into the foyer.

She could see how unhinged her son was and it broke her heart. Moira came back to ask Oliver if he wanted some tea or perhaps something stronger and when he refused, she decided it was best to give him some space.

The squared jaw, blue eyed man leaned back on the couch running his hands over his face. He hadn't felt this helpless, this useless, since Tommy died in his arms. That couldn't happen again, it just… it couldn't.

The TV was on and a picture of a smiling Felicity in her glasses and business-like ponytail popped up on the screen. Oliver turned up the volume and the reporter's voice resounded inside the living room.

"Police have confirmed young IT expert and executive assistant at QC, Felicity Smoak, has been abducted tonight outside an undisclosed location in the glades. Miss Smoak's captor is renowned killer Barton Mathis aka The Dollmaker. Mathis had been serving consecutive life sentences at Iron Heights until he recently escaped during the latest earthquake. Miss Smoak was last seen earlier today at the Starling City Police Department benefit in the company of rumoured boyfriend and boss, Oliver Queen. Mr. Queen and all members of the Queen family have yet to release a statement regarding the situation."

The screen changed to display a full sized picture of Felicity in Oliver's arms, the picture of them kissing at the ball. Diggle walked in holding his phone to his ear and he frowned at the TV but kept on whispering to whoever was on the other side of the line. Oliver sat up in attention as the woman continued her recount of the news.

"The couple was spotted leaving the gala early but according to police reports Miss Smoak was alone at the time of the abduction. This is the second victim taken by the Dollmaker in the last 24 hours. Police officer Quentin Lance's daughter, Laurel Lance, had been kidnapped only hours ago but she managed to escape when the vigilante known as the Arrow intervened during Miss Smoak's abduction. Miss Lance is now receiving medical attention with no signs of major injury. Police are yet to confirm if the victims' connection to Oliver Queen has played a part in their abduction. More on this ongoing news after the break."

Diggle got off the phone and Oliver muted the TV walking up to meet his friend.

"Any news?" he asked.

"That was Lyla. We got an approximate location on Felicity's phone. The only thing in that area that stands out is a chemical plant called Methamorpho. Methamorpho has been condemned since the quake, Oliver. Perfect place to make some dolls," Diggle said.

"Not tonight," he hissed.

"I already texted your friend Sara with the address, she's meeting me up there and I'm taking the hood just in case. If Lance or anyone else from the police department shows up it's best for them to see the Arrow there and not me. Listen, Oliver," Diggle tapped the man's shoulder. "We're getting her back."

Oliver didn't answer, instead he just urged him to go. After Diggle left, Oliver stood there wondering how on earth he ended up in this situation again trying to save one girl he cared about only to put the other one in danger. Last time it cost him Shado's life. This time…

The thought that came next made Oliver grab the nearest object, a tall ceramic vase, and launch it half way across the room crashing it against the mirror that hung over the fireplace. Pieces of glass and thick ceramic scattered all over the floor drawing in maids, policemen and one very startled Moira Queen while Oliver took a punch to the wall so hard that his knuckles cracked. _Damn it!_

* * *

"There, all better, dear." The Dollmaker put away the first aid kit and started setting up the tubes and cables to apply his especial polymer.

Felicity had spaced out after their last interaction. The sight of the dead girls brought on the reality of the situation. She was about to die. If someone didn't come for her in about ten seconds, Felicity was going to die.

Mathis removed the duct tape carefully from her lips and she struggled as he forced the plastic tube into her mouth and secured it. Felicity was breathing fast, her heart pounded in her ears. She looked up in the hopes she'd see Oliver crouching down on one of the beams. But she didn't, Oliver wasn't there. Time was running out and Felicity knew it.

Mathis brought a carved white medallion tied to a ribbon and placed it around her neck, the signature piece that branded all his dolls. Felicity eyed the tall glass jar that held the white substance and she cried as she imagined it going down her throat, shutting out the air. The Dollmaker poured it into the tube that led to Felicity's mouth and her panting shook her violently. She had no more tears to shed as the liquid made its way down the clear line and reached the curve that led up to her mouth.

"If you struggle, it'll take longer," he said and Felicity thought she would struggle until the very last second.

The plastic was going up now, inches away from her face, and Felicity shut her eyes not wanting Mathis' face to be the last thing on her mind. Instead she focused her thoughts on a pair of deep blue eyes and a light blonde stubble along a firm jaw line.

Then it was chaos all around. The black figure dropped from the ceiling like one of those circus acrobats hanging from black fabric stripes. She landed on the tube forcing it out of Felicity's mouth and making the Dollmaker fall back on the process.

Felicity opened her eyes in renewed panic and spit out the plastic that made it to her mouth before it got a chance to harden. Her cheeks hurt from the way the tube was pulled out but she didn't care. There were here for her, she didn't have to die today.

Mathis got up and ran but Diggle met him with a combat strike to his chest. The killer took a step back unable to draw breath since the punch sucked the air right out of his lungs. Diggle kicked the man's legs from under him and he towered him, his face covered by Oliver's hood.

"You're going back to prison," he said.

The man looked at him unfazed and then the metal shaft pierced the Dollmaker's heart from behind, coming out all the way to the front as his eyes opened in shock just before he fell back one last time.

"No, he's not," Dig heard Sara say.

The soldier looked at her angrily.

"This is not how we do things." he said.

"Well, it is how _I_ do things," Sara answered. "Grab your girl and hand me that bow. I've got some arrows to shoot if you want them to think it was Ollie here and not you."

Diggle reluctlantly did as she said and he went to get Felicity off from the grid.

"Diggle!" the girl cried.

"You ok?"

Felicity nodded and threw herself at him once she was free.

"Thank you," she sobbed. Her heart was still racing with residues from her previous panic.

"You're welcome. Now come on, let's get you to Oliver before he strangles someone and gets himself thrown off in jail."

Felicity smiled softly and leaned on Diggle for support and they made it out of the chemical plant. Suddenly Felicity stopped and looked at Diggle with a puzzled frown.

"Was that the masked woman?" she asked.

"It's a long story. I'll tell you about it in the car."

* * *

Oliver was alone in the living room again after the maids picked up the mess he made and exited the room quietly in fear of another outburst.

He was pacing the room back and forth, glancing over the window from time to time not knowing exactly what he expected to see.

The TV was being completely useless of course, repeating over and over again how there were no news on Felicity's whereabouts or his involvement in the Dollmaker's case. They'd shown some footage of Laurel leaving the hospital under her father's arm but Oliver couldn't think about that anymore. Felicity was out there and he wasn't doing anything to bring her back.

The door bell rang and Oliver just turned his back guessing it'd be more policemen coming to grill him over the fake details of his useless story. He couldn't put up with this much longer. Oliver was breaking out to get Felicity back himself.

The shaky voice coming from the corridor made the hair on the back of his neck stand.

"Yes, I'm fine, I just need to see Oliver," she said.

Oliver turned around not believing his ears.

"Felicity?" he muttered.

The tired figure showed up on the threshold with Diggle hovering by her side. Oliver let out the breath he'd been holding when he met her eyes.

"Oliver!" Felicity closed the distance between them and he brought her in as her arms closed tightly around Oliver's neck. He closed his eyes feeling the weight lift from his shoulders as his nose filled with the familiar scent of her hair.

She was here, she was safe, she was back.

Oliver cupped her face checking for confirmation that she was really ok. He noticed the tear tracks that stained her cheeks and the faint signs of bruising starting to form around her lips.

A murderous feeling took over his body and he looked at Diggle with flames in his eyes.

"Where is he?" he demanded.

"He's gone," Diggle said and Oliver went from joy to shame and back again all in one second.

Felicity looked down and she noticed the bandage on Oliver's right hand.

"You're hurt," she said.

Felicity ran her fingers over the bandage but Oliver turned his palm up so he could trap her hand in his.

"Hey, look at me, it's nothing. You're safe now and that's all the matters."

Her lips curved up and she winced a little at the pain of her skin stretching. Oliver brought her back into him and he wrapped his arms around her shoulders with a sigh. Felicity's head rested on his broad shoulder and she realized this is what safe meant to her, this, being in Oliver's presence. That was safe.

* * *

_Aww, the feels. I truly love these babies with all my heart. Hopefully I'm doing their awesomeness justice. This story and your comments are a source of joy. Until next time, my lovelies. xOxO, WordaholiC [as always your help and advice are very much welcomed]_


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